Achieving our goal: 100% renewable energy for our global operations

Urvi Parekh April 15, 2021

Aviator Wind Farm in Coke County, TX

Urvi Parekh

April 15, 2021

We are proud to announce that our global operations are supported by 100 percent renewable energy and have reached net zero emissions, completing the goal we set for ourselves in 2018. We believe that climate change is an urgent issue facing the world today, and we are committed to doing our part to address this challenge. But this isn’t new for Facebook — this journey began nearly a decade ago.

And although we’ve reached our latest goal, the work isn’t over. We will contract new solar and wind projects to remain at 100 percent renewable energy, even as we continue to grow. We’ve already set a new goal that in 2030, we will reach net zero emissions across not only our own operations but also our value chain (our suppliers, as well as items like business travel and employee commuting). To achieve this, we will work closely with our suppliers via our Responsible Supply Chain program, invest in high-quality carbon removal projects, and continue to find innovative ways to reduce our emissions.

How we reached 100 percent renewable energy

Our journey began back in 2011, when we had just one data center, in Prineville, Oregon. We were already looking at how we could support our operations in more sustainable ways, and we made our first renewable energy commitment. From our first wind project in Iowa, we have continued our progress to build one of the largest portfolios of renewable energy projects to support our 100 percent goal. Our commitment to renewable energy has resulted in 63 new wind and solar power plants, representing an estimated $8 billion of investment. These projects support tens of thousands of jobs during construction, when solar panels and wind turbines are installed on-site, as well as along the global supply chain to produce solar panels and wind turbines and towers.

Today, we are one of the largest corporate buyers of renewable energy, with contracts in place for more than 6 gigawatts of wind and solar energy across 18 states and five countries. In 2020 alone, we contracted for approximately 1 GW of new renewable energy and brought 2 GW of renewable energy projects online to support our operations. All 63 of our projects are located on the same grids as our data centers. These projects are all new resources coming to the grid because of Facebook’s commitment.

In partnership with the utilities that serve our data centers, we have also developed new green tariffs, which are mechanisms for customers to buy green power from their electric utility. In six states, we’ve partnered with utilities and local stakeholders to develop and implement new tariffs where they weren’t available before. We're proud that other companies have used these same tariffs to source their own renewable energy, and other states and utilities have used our model to attract businesses across the United States that want 100 percent renewable energy.

What’s next?

We will continue to contract for new renewable energy projects to ensure that our global operations remain supported by 100 percent renewable energy as our business grows. We remain committed to innovative solutions that increase the amount of renewable energy on electricity grids around the world, including energy storage. This year alone, we’ve already announced 720 MWh of new energy storage projects paired to solar power plants.

We recognize the urgency of climate change. We know the next 10 years will be the defining time for reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and that we have a role to play in this effort — both as a platform that connects people to information and as a global company that supports climate action. To learn more about our progress, visit sustainability.fb.com.