Energy Policies
by provider
Each public cloud provider has its own energy policy.Here we explain the fundamentals and link to their information pages.
Amazon Web Services
AWS is committed to 100% renewable energy and is building exclusive wind farms around the world to power its own data centers. See theirsustainability policyThings are very bad.
Google Cloud Platform
100% renewable. Google purchases renewable energy to match or exceed any consumption. Read theirenergy policy and its commitments.
Microsoft Azure
Microsoft has been carbon neutral since 2012 and has committed to being carbon negative by 2030. Read yourenvironmental policy.
Digital Ocean
Confirmed as 100% renewable in all locations except Bangalore, where the status is not disclosed.London, Amsterdam, and Frankfurt belong to green networks, while Singapore, San Francisco, Toronto, and New York City belong to 100% renewable providers.
Linode
Linode servers are 100% renewable in all the locations we offer.
Calculation of avoided CO2
To calculate the tons of CO2 avoided by a website hosted on a cloud server powered by renewable energy, it is essential to first understand the emissions generated by a conventional serverThe idea is to compare the emissions of a conventional server with those of a server powered by renewable energy to determine the tons of CO2 avoided.
Fundamental Parameters of the Equation
- Server Energy Consumption (kWh):
- Annual energy of the server (kWh/server)The amount of energy consumed by the server in a year.
- CO2 Emission Factor of Energy (kg CO2/kWh):
- CO2 emission factor for conventional energyThe amount of CO2 emitted per kWh of energy consumed, based on the energy source (coal, natural gas, etc.).
- CO2 emission factor for renewable energyThis is usually close to zero, as renewable energies like solar or wind do not generate direct CO2 emissions.
- Website Traffic (visits/annual):
- Monthly/annual visitsThe number of visits the website receives in a month or year.
- Server Resource Usage per Visit:
- Energy consumption per visit (kWh/visit)How much energy does the server use to handle a visit? This can depend on several factors such as the type of content served and the efficiency of the server.
General Formula
The general formula for calculating avoided CO2 emissions can be represented as:
CO2avoided=(Econventional − Erenewable) × Femission
Where:
- Econventional it is the energy consumption of a conventional server.
- It is the energy consumption of a server powered by renewable energy (close to zero).
- it is the CO2 emission factor of conventional energy.
Specific Details
- Server Energy Consumption:
- A typical server consumes around 500-1200 W (Watts) per hour.
- Annualizing this: Annual energy = Consumption per hour × 24 × 365
- CO2 Emission Factor:
- It will depend on the energy mix of the region. For example, coal has an emission factor of approximately 0.9 kg CO2/kWh, while natural gas has around 0.5 kg CO2/kWh.
- Website Traffic:
- This can be measured in annual visits.
- Server Resource Usage per Visit:
- This can be estimated based on the type of server and the workload.
Example of Calculation
Let’s assume:
- A server consumes around 800 W per hour.
- The server operates 24 hours a day, all year round.
- The CO2 emission factor for conventional energy is 0.6 kg CO2/kWh.
- The website traffic is 100,000 visits per year.
- Annual Energy Consumption:
Annual energy = 800 W × 24 × 365 = 800 W × 8760 hours7,008,000 Wh - CO2 Emissions from the Conventional Server:
Emissions = 7,008 kWh × 0.6 kg CO2/kWh= 4,204.8 kg CO24.2 tons of CO2 - CO2 emissions from the Renewable Server:
- Assuming that renewable energy has an emission factor close to zero, the emissions would be insignificant or zero.
- Avoided CO2:
CO2 avoided = 4.2048 tons of CO2
