14 DAY TRIAL // Greenpeace has released its latest report - “How Clean is Your Cloud” - stating that Apple Inc., Amazon, and Microsoft “are powering their growing 21st-century clouds with dirty, 19th-century coal energy.” Apple has responded negatively to these claims.
Greenpeace believes that “if Apple is really interested in having the ‘high percentage’ of renewable energy it claims to want for the iCloud, it will have to look beyond the initial steps for on-site generation and use its tremendous cash reserves to invest in or purchase renewable energy and also to put pressure on Duke Energy to to provide cleaner energy.”
Apple quickly responded with the following statement (via NPR):
"Our data center in North Carolina will draw about 20 megawatts at full capacity, and we are on track to supply more than 60 percent of that power on-site from renewable sources including a solar farm and fuel cell installation which will each be the largest of their kind in the country," said spokeswoman Kristin Huguet. "We believe this industry-leading project will make Maiden the greenest data center ever built, and it will be joined next year by our new facility in Oregon running on 100 percent renewable energy."
Earlier this year, Apple announced plans to build a "green" data center in Prineville, Oregon.
When Apple released its 2012 Environmental Update and Facilities Report in February, the company said it was building the nation’s largest end user–owned, onsite solar array on the land surrounding the data center.
“When completed, this 100-acre, 20-megawatt facility will supply 42 million kWh of clean, renewable energy annually,” said the Mac maker.
Apple also plans to erect a fuel cell installation - the largest non-utility fuel cell installation operating anywhere in the US. The installation is scheduled to go online later this year.
Following Apple’s response, Greenpeace issued a follow-up statement, clarifying that it is still not content with Apple’s approach, despite welcoming its attempt to clarify matters a bit.
"While we welcome Apple’s attempt today to provide more specific details on its North Carolina iData Center, it does not appear to have provided the full story, and is instead seeking to provide select pieces of information to make their dirty energy footprint seem smaller," the nonprofit said.