Overview
- Microsoft, which Bloomberg reported Wednesday is debating its 2030 “100/100/0” target, said it is still seeking to keep its annual renewable matching goal and has not made a final decision.
- Hourly matching requires clean electricity to be available in the same grid at the same hour it is used, unlike annual matching that tallies purchases over a year and does not ensure simultaneous delivery.
- AI expansion is stretching power demand, with Microsoft planning about $190 billion in data center spending through year-end, adding roughly 1 gigawatt of capacity every three months, and reporting a 23.4% rise in total emissions and a 168% jump in energy use since 2020.
- To secure steady supply, Microsoft has lined up diverse power deals that include a 2024 agreement tied to restarting a Three Mile Island nuclear unit, reported talks on a Texas natural-gas plant with Chevron and Engine No. 1, and 1.2 gigawatts of carbon-free projects in Wisconsin.
- Peers are also reporting higher emissions as AI grows, and experts warn that greater reliance on gas could weaken earlier clean-energy promises and make winning local support for new data centers—given concerns over pollution, power prices, and water—more difficult.