Microsoft says 100% of its global electricity consumption is now matched by renewable energy

Microsoft has revealed all of its global electricity consumption is now matched by renewable energy generation.

In 2020, the firm said it aimed to be carbon negative by 2030, setting a target of “renewable matching” by 2025, whereby consumption is offset by production of renewable energy.

"Since our carbon negative announcement in 2020, we have contracted 40 gigawatts of new renewable energy supply across 26 countries, working with more than 95 utilities and developers across 400-plus contracts and counting," the company confirmed in a blog post penned by chief sustainability officer Melanie Nakagawa and Noelle Walsh, president of cloud operations and innovation.

"To put that amount in perspective — that’s enough energy to power about 10 million US homes. Of that contracted volume, 19 GW are now online, delivering new clean energy supply to the power grid, while the remainder are slated to come online over the next five years."

From its first 110 MW renewable power purchase agreement in 2013, Microsoft has grown to become one of the world's largest corporate purchasers of renewable energy.

The tech giant has now contracted 40 GW of renewable energy, with 19 GW currently online and operational. The remaining 21 GW is scheduled to become available within the next five years.

According to Microsoft, environmental benefits include the reduction of its reported Scope 2 carbon dioxide emissions by an estimated 25 million tons.

How Microsoft sources renewable energy

Microsoft has sourced its clean energy through multiple requests for proposal or information, bilateral engagements, and clean tariffs to evaluate over 5,000 unique carbon-free energy projects around the world.

"Today, Microsoft has six energy company partners with which we have over 1 GW of contracted renewable energy capacity, and more than 20 energy supplier partners where each partner has at least five separate renewable energy projects with Microsoft — evidence of the durable, repeatable relationships necessary to scale clean energy," said Nakagawa and Walsh.

"Our renewable energy procurement has mobilized billions of dollars in private investment, supported thousands of jobs across the communities where we operate and delivered meaningful co-benefits."

The company said it will continue with its carbon reduction strategies, adding to its portfolio of renewable energy resources. This, it said, will include nuclear energy, next-generation grid infrastructure, and carbon capture technology.

Microsoft revealed it also plans to build and leverage new AI-driven tools to design, permit, and deploy new power technologies. The company recently announced collaborations with Idaho National Laboratory and the Midcontinental System Operator.

According to data from the International Energy Agency (IEA) data, renewable energy generation has expanded nearly four-fold since 2000. In many markets around the world, clean energy is one of the fastest-growing sources of power and often the one with the fastest time-to-market.

"Corporate buyers like Microsoft continue to serve as an important catalyst in driving commercial demand for innovation and infrastructure across the power industry," said Nakagawa and Walsh.

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