China’s Tencent unveils goal to run on 100% green energy by 2030

Bloomberg

Tencent Holdings Ltd is stepping up the use of renewable energy with a goal of zeroing out emissions by 2030, acknowledging the damage wrought by its data centers while heeding Beijing’s call to protect the environment.
The Chinese social media and gaming giant plans to use all but renewable energy by the same timeframe and has already purchased 500 million kilowatt hours of wind and solar energy this year — roughly equivalent to the electricity consumption of 40,000 American homes for a year — to power some of its data centres, it said.
Tencent is one of the world’s largest operators of data centres, which require massive amounts of energy and cooling. The internet industry worldwide has drawn fire from environmentalists and China’s government, which is ordering its wealthiest corporations to curb excesses after a decade of heady expansion.
It’s the latest among China’s big tech firms to unveil their zero-emission blueprints, in the wake of Xi Jinping’s call to make China carbon neutral by 2060. It’s also announced plans to give back to society as Xi’s administration pursues a campaign to get affluent private enterprises to share the wealth. Last year, the WeChat operator pledged to set aside $15 billion for social responsibility programs to tackle issues from renewable energy to scientific education and healthcare.
Tencent’s direct emissions have been on the rise as the company expanded over the past few years.