Facebook, Apple announce fresh green energy deals

NEW DELHI : Tech majors Facebook, Inc. and Apple Inc. have announced renewable energy deals to become net carbon neutral in their global operations. Facebook will buy renewable energy for its India operations, a first of its kind initiative for the social media giant in South Asia, while Apple’s net zero-carbon move, Restore Fund, is the first such initiative globally.

Facebook is partnering with Mumbai-based clean energy company, CleanMax, to set up a 32 megawatts (MW) wind power project in Karnataka. While CleanMax will own and operate the project, Facebook will buy power off the grid via environmental attribute certificates. “This partnership with CleanMax will enable new solar and wind power to be generated in the near future, contributing to the decarbonization of the Indian electrical grid,” said Urvi Parekh, head of renewable energy, Facebook. Around 50% of the project capacity has been commissioned and generating power.

Facebook had announced a similar tie-up in Singapore last October. The company partnered with solar energy firm Sunseap Group to buy renewable energy that would power its data centres in Asia.