Amazon cranks the numbers and... Yes, they decide 100% renewable for AWS

Amazon is a company that always runs the numbers on whether something makes sense. For years, Amazon didn't think it was worthwhile to have renewable energy as part of its data center portfolio.  In 2011, though AWS had its first renewable energy site in Oregon, and they have added two more.

Options for Customers Seeking Carbon-Neutral Cloud Infrastructure
AWS introduced its first carbon-neutral region – US West (Oregon) – in 2011. Today, AWS offers customers three AWS Regions that are 100% carbon-neutral – US West (Oregon), EU (Frankfurt), and AWS GovCloud (US).

And now Amazon has announced it plans on being 100% renewable.

In addition to the environmental benefits inherently associated with running applications in the cloud, AWS has a long-term commitment to achieve 100% renewable energy usage for our global infrastructure footprint.

I've been blogging on the idea of a green data center since 2007 and things have come a long way with Google, Apple, Facebook, and now Amazon amongst many others who have decided 100% renewable energy is a good choice.

Being 100% renewable is a milestone, but not the end.  Having a sustainable strategy for data centers  is more than the energy consumption.  There are so many others things to work on to  green a data center. 

The nice thing is I don't have to focus on the renewable energy part as the media has caught on to the concept.

 

Amazon Vows to Run on 100 Percent Renewable Energy

Wired - ‎12 hours ago‎

Over the past few years, Apple, Google, and Facebook pledged to run their online empires on renewable energy, and considering how large these empires have become—how many data centers and machines are now required to keep them going—this was ...

Amazon Vows to Run Its Cloud Entirely on Renewable Energy

TIME - ‎2 hours ago‎

Amazon on Wednesday vowed to run its cloud-computing division completely on renewable energy, following in the footsteps of tech giants Apple, Google and Facebook in making a comprehensive environmental pledge regarding its data services.

Amazon will run all its data centers on renewable energy...eventually

GeekWire - ‎18 hours ago‎

AWS-Logo-Orange Environmentally-conscious cloud users got good news today: Amazon has pledged to get all of its data centers running entirely on renewable energy. In a new post on the AWS website, Amazon said that the company has made a ...

 

Amazon Joins The 'Race To Build A Green Internet' With A 100% Renewable ...

International Business Times - ‎2 hours ago‎

The group estimated that Amazon Web Services gets only 15 percent of its energy from renewables such as wind and solar power, while the rest comes mostly from carbon-intensive sources such as coal-fired power plants. In an April report, Greenpeace gave ...

 

Amazon promises to run entirely on renewable energy... finally

ZDNet - ‎18 hours ago‎

amazon-hero (Image: Amazon via CNET). Amazon has promised to achieve 100 percent renewable energy usage for its global footprint, the company announced on Wednesday. No firm deadline was given, but it's likely to take many years. Perhaps even ...

Berkshire Hathaway's Green (Renewable) Energy efforts

WSJ has a post on Berkshire Hathaway’s renewable energy efforts.

In the neighboring Hawkeye State, the Berkshire Hathaway Inc. chairman has sunk billions into wind-farm projects, part of a big gambit on renewable energy by a utility company he acquired in 2000 and has built into one of the country’s largest power suppliers.

Through a majority-owned subsidiary, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, Mr. Buffett plans to double the $15 billion already committed to renewable-energy projects through early this year, and he is on the hunt for more utility acquisitions.

Charles T. Munger , Mr. Buffett’s longtime business partner and Berkshire’s vice chairman, last month predicted that the company would be “the biggest utilities business in the United States” in a few years.

Seems like more and more green data center efforts are going to work with companies that are owned by Berkshire Hathaway.

California's Drought impacts Hydropower decreasing from 20% to 10% of energy mix

US Energy Information Agency released data on the effect of the California drought on energy production.

California drought leads to less hydropower, increased natural gas generation

graph of California drought status, as explained in the article text

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture Drought Monitor; National Drought Mitigation Center

The drought in California continues to increase in severity since California's governor declared a state of drought emergency in January 2014. As of September 30, 58% of the state was classified as experiencing exceptional drought, the most intense drought category. These dry conditions limit hydropower generation, requiring generation from other sources to make up for the shortfall.

Bad news is Hydropower has decreased due to the drought from 20% to 10%.

California's drought, which began in 2011, has resulted in a significant decline in hydropower generation. On average, hydropower accounted for 20% of California's in-state generation during the first six months of each year from 2004 to 2013. During the first half of 2014, however, hydropower accounted for only 10% of California's total generation. Monthly hydropower generation in 2014 has fallen well below the 10-year range for each individual month.

Good news is Wind and Solar grew to be bigger than hydropower.

California's drought, which began in 2011, has resulted in a significant decline in hydropower generation. On average, hydropower accounted for 20% of California's in-state generation during the first six months of each year from 2004 to 2013. During the first half of 2014, however, hydropower accounted for only 10% of California's total generation. Monthly hydropower generation in 2014 has fallen well below the 10-year range for each individual month.

In the below graph you can see the % of power coming from the various sources.

NewImage