In 2009 Google Inc. perplexed the energy world by filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission a request to grant wholesale power marketing authority to a new subsidiary, Google Energy. Industry chatter was initially cynical and included frequent references to Enron Corp., but Google soon made clear its laudable intentions. In 2010, Google Energy signed a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with NextEra Energy Inc., pursuant to which the company would purchase 114 megawatts (MW) from a wind farm near Ames, Iowa. Google has since announced several other PPA transactions, totaling over 500 MW and making it the country’s largest corporate purchaser of wind energy.
Growing awareness of the Internet’s enormous power use, along with pressure from the environmental community, led to similar announcements from other high-tech giants. In 2012, Apple Inc. announced construction of a 20 MW solar plant adjacent to a data center. In 2013, Microsoft Corp. acquired the output of the 100 MW Keechi Wind Project in Texas, and Facebook Inc. acquired the output of a 139 MW wind project in Wellsburg, Iowa. In the retail sector, in 2014 IKEA announced the purchase of a 98 MW wind farm in Illinois, while Wal-Mart Stores Inc. had installed so many solar systems on its stores that it was the largest corporate solar buyer in the U.S.
