3 min read
Google’s latest sustainability report reveals a staggering increase in electricity consumption. In 2024, the tech giant’s data centers consumed 30.8 million megawatt-hours of electricity, more than double the 14.4 million megawatt-hours used in 2020.
The dramatic rise underscores the energy demands of Google’s rapidly expanding infrastructure. The issue is almost entirely driven by data centers, which accounted for 95.8% of Google’s total electricity usage in 2024.
Though Google began publicly reporting data center consumption in 2020, extrapolated estimates suggest that back in 2014, its data centers consumed just over 4 million megawatt-hours. This indicates a sevenfold increase in just ten years.
Despite implementing cutting-edge efficiency measures, improvements have started to plateau. In 2024, Google’s power usage effectiveness (PUE) stood at 1.09, only marginally better than its 2023 figure of 1.10 and only 0.02 better than a decade ago.
The Push for Carbon-Free Energy
Google remains committed to its ambitious target of running all operations on “24/7 carbon-free energy,” that is, clean power around the clock, everywhere it operates.
To reach this goal, the company is turning to a mix of renewable and next-gen energy sources, including:
- Geothermal Energy: Google is backing startups like Fervo Energy, which develop enhanced geothermal systems capable of generating electricity regardless of weather conditions.
- Nuclear Fusion: Google has committed to purchasing 200 megawatts from Commonwealth Fusion Systems’ Arc power plant, expected in the early 2030s.
- Nuclear Fission: A separate pledge involves buying 500 megawatts from Kairos Power, a startup working on small modular reactors.
Renewables Fill the Immediate Gap
While fusion and fission projects remain long-term bets, Google is investing heavily in solar and wind energy, the only widely deployable clean energy sources available before 2030. Highlights from 2024 include:
- 600 MW of solar power purchased in South Carolina (May)
- 700 MW of solar capacity added in Oklahoma (January)
- A $20 billion investment with Intersect Power and TPG Rise Climate to build gigawatts’ worth of carbon-free power plants
Still, matching electricity consumption with renewable generation in real-time remains a challenge. Although Google has contracted enough clean power to match its annual use, renewable sources don’t always produce energy when or where it’s needed.
Regional Gaps Highlight Ongoing Challenges
Globally, Google has achieved 66% hourly matching for carbon-free electricity at its data centers. However, regional discrepancies are significant:
- Latin America: 92%
- Middle East & Africa: Only 5%
These disparities have pushed the company to double down on more stable and scalable carbon-free solutions.
“In order for us to eventually reach this goal, we are going to have to have these technologies,” said Michael Terrell, Google’s Head of Advanced Energy.
As Google’s data operations grow, so does its power hunger, and its resolve to meet that demand without compromising its environmental commitments.
