Google's Strategy for Achieving 100% Carbon-Free Energy in Data Centers by 2030

The city of San Francisco consumes roughly half the electricity used by Google's data centers globally.

In 2020, Google consumed 15.5 terawatt hours of electricity, with most of it used in its data centers. The company has not yet released its 2021 electricity usage figures.

As Google's business and internet usage expand, so does the amount of energy the company uses, according to Michael Terrell, Google's Energy Director.

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet and Google, has stated that the company aims to achieve 24/7 carbon-free energy by 2030, which he refers to as "Humanity's next big moonshot."

Since 2007, Google has claimed to be carbon-neutral by purchasing the same amount of carbon offsets and renewable energy to offset its net operational carbon emissions, although the effectiveness of offsets is not always verified.

Since 2017, Google has been purchasing enough renewable energy to match its electricity use, although this stage represents progress, it means that the company still uses power from carbon-emitting sources at times.

Google aims to achieve its next objective by 2030, which is to operate 24/7 on carbon-free energy. This means that Google will purchase carbon-free electricity from a nearby, regional grid to power its operations every hour of every day.

That’s a goal which Pichai has admitted stresses him out.

Data center efficiency, or PUE

To achieve its objectives, Google must ensure that its data centers are highly efficient and rely on clean energy sources.

The responsibility for energy development in data centers at Google falls under the purview of Maud Texier, the head of energy development for data centers.

The ratio of energy used by the computer data center divided by the total energy used by the computing equipment is a measurement that Google focuses on, known as PUE.

The PUE of 1 indicates that all the energy utilized by a data center is used for the computing equipment, while a PUE of 2 implies that an equal amount of energy is used for cooling and power distribution to the computing machines.

Google's PUE in 2008 was 1.22, while their most recent PUE, published in the second quarter of 2021, was 1.1.

According to the Uptime Institute's 2021 Data Center Survey, the average PUE of large data centers worldwide is 1.57, as mentioned by Google.

Google employs a combination of hardware and software advancements to decrease their PUE, as stated by Texier to CNBC.

Google invests in new materials for its servers that emit less heat, which helps reduce the amount of cooling needed.

Google employs a machine learning algorithm created by DeepMind, its AI division, to forecast the optimal time to operate its heat pumps for cooling its data centers.

According to Texier, Google benefits from having control over the design of both its data center hardware and software.

Texier stated to CNBC that it is not fair to assert that there is a single large location where the majority of efficiencies are gained, as it is the result of creating efficiency patterns in every step.

The more daunting challenge: Cleaning the global grid

In addition to energy efficiency, the production method of the energy used in Google's data centers is also crucial for sustainability.

The grid's power sources are taken into account by Google when evaluating a site for a data center.

"It's easier for us if the grid is clean," Texier stated.

To accelerate the transition of the regional grid, a path must be found if the grid is not clean in a location where Google plans to build a data center.

Google can redistribute its computing power among data centers once they are constructed. The company employs algorithms to determine where to execute a compute function globally, and integrates carbon emissions data into those algorithms, according to Texier, as reported by CNBC.

But Google can’t drive changes to the grid on its own.

Building momentum and system-level changes are crucial for achieving a 24/7 grid transformation, which is why this endeavor is referred to as a 'moonshot' for the next decade, according to Texier.

The demand for ready-made green solutions is rising as more companies make climate pledges, according to Texier.

Texier was the head of product management for industrial energy products at before working at Google. She stated that conversations about sustainability have evolved over the past five to ten years.

Google is being asked by cloud customers, "What are your sustainability efforts? Can you meet our internal targets?" Texier stated. Offering a green computing product is a "must-have," Texier said. "I believe it's the strongest market signal we could receive," he added.

Terrell stated that the 24-7 moonshot is not a mere fantasy, despite being a challenging endeavor.

Google has spent over a decade working in the energy industry worldwide, and our engineers and employees have learned a lot through this experience, as stated by Terrell to CNBC.

Google has mastered the art of scaling up wind and solar power and collaborating with governments to create public policy.

"Although we're uncertain about the specific route it will follow, we believe it's achievable based on our previous work, and we're thrilled to attempt it," Terrell stated.