Benzinga - by Zacks, Benzinga Contributor.
Alphabet's (NASDAQ: GOOGL) is steadily moving toward attaining its zero-carbon goals.
Reportedly, its division Google partnered with NV Energy, a utility company owned by Berkshire Hathaway, to power its data centers located in Nevada with geothermal electricity.
Google strives to boost the amount of carbon-free geothermal electricity from 3.5 megawatts to 115 megawatts into the local power grid for its operations over the next six years.
NV Energy entered a purchase agreement with advanced geothermal developer Fervo Energy in order to execute the underlined deal.
Google-NV Energy partnership is subject to state utility regulators' approval.
Alphabet Inc. Price and Consensus
Alphabet Inc. price-consensus-chart | Alphabet Inc. Quote
Zero-Carbon Efforts Gain Steam Google, which has been carbon-neutral since 2007, is leaving no stone unturned to achieve net-zero emissions across all of its operations and value chain by 2030.
The company aims to reduce 50% of its combined Scope 1, 2, and 3 absolute emissions before 2030.
GOOGL plans to invest in nature-based and technology-based carbon removal solutions to neutralize its remaining emissions.
In this regard, the company's huge investments in wind and solar energies remain noteworthy. Google's global operations are powered by 64% carbon-free energy, including wind and solar.
Its transition to geothermal energy remains a major positive as the energy uses naturally occurring underground heat to produce renewable electricity, unlike solar and wind energies, which depend on the availability of sunshine and wind.
Google's shift from fossil fuels to clean energy is anticipated to reduce costs in the near and long terms, which is a plus.
Bottom Line The carbon-free drive is gaining strong traction across the technology sector.
Not only Alphabet but companies like Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Microsoft MSFT(NASDAQ: MSFT) and Lam Research (NASDAQ: LRCX) are also taking initiatives to lower overall carbon footprints and cut energy bills substantially.
Amazon is known as the biggest corporate investor in renewable energy. Its growing investments in the projects have accelerated the pace of its journey toward powering its infrastructure with 100% renewable energy. The goal was initially targeted to be met by 2030, which is now expected to be achieved by 2025. In 2021, the company reached 85% renewable energy across its business.
Microsoft is gathering steam to become carbon-negative by 2030. Further, MSFT aims to remove all green gas emissions by 2050.
Lam Research is committed to reaching its goal of carbon net-zero emissions by 2050 and operating business on 100% renewable energy by 2030.
Conclusion In this era, environmental, social and governance factors have become crucial for building a sustainable business. Now, investors worldwide not only look at how much a company is capable of generating high profits but also consider how much its business is sustainable for the future.
Given this scenario, Alphabet, which sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), remains well-poised to gain investor optimism on the back of its growing efforts to reduce its carbon footprint.
Alphabet has gained 25.6% on a year-to-date basis, outperforming the Zacks Computer & Technology sector's return of 10.2%.
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