Facebook, Apple announces new green energy deals

Facebook, Apple announces new green energy deals

Tech majors Facebook, Inc. and Apple Inc. have announced renewable energy deals to keep neutral for its global operations. Facebook will buy renewable energy from its India operations, which is the first step in the telecommunications sector in South Asia, while Apple's net zero-carbon move, Restore Fund, is the first such initiative in the world. Facebook is partnering with Mumbai's clean energy company, CleanMax, to launch a 32 megawatts (MW) wind power project in Karnataka. While CleanMax will own and operate the project, Facebook will purchase electricity on the grid with environmental certification.

"This partnership with CleanMax will enable new solar and wind energy to be produced soon, contributing to India's energy generation," said Urvi Parekh, head of renewable energy, on Facebook. Facebook had announced a similar tie-up in Singapore last October. The company has partnered with solar energy company Sunseap Group to purchase renewable energy that will empower its data centres in Asia.

Apple, on the other hand, has set up a $ 200 million fund that aims to “remove at least 1 million tons of carbon dioxide pipelines annually” from the global atmosphere. The project is partnering with Conservation International, a non-profit United States and Goldman Sachs. and protecting the sensitive environment, "said Lisa Jackson, vice president of environmental, policy, and social programs at Apple. Apple suppliers, Yuto and CCL, use renewable and durable materials to package their products in India.

Facebook and Apple are among the Silicon Valley giants who have vowed to become carbon neutral by 2030. Last month, the iPhone maker said 110 of its partners would join the company's carbon-neutral campaign and would be heading for "100% renewable energy" production by 2030.

In September, Google had also announced plans to make its Google Cloud business carbon-free by 2030. “We are the first cloud providers to fulfill this commitment, and we aim to be the first to achieve this,” the company said in a blog post back then.