Big tech companies spent several months this year promoting their investments in nuclear energy. Now, the tide is turning toward renewable energy.
Google announced Tuesday that it was funding $20 billion worth of renewable energy projects across the United States. On Wednesday it was Microsoft’s turn, which helped launch the Climate and Communities Investment Coalition with Acadia Infrastructure Capital.
The coalition, organized by Acadia, seeks to invest $9 billion to build 5 gigawatts of renewable energy, enough to power nearly 1 million homes.
“Renewable energy… will continue to expand without corporations. With corporations, the pace becomes exponential,” Brian O’Callaghan, vice president of Acadia, said Reuters.
Microsoft has already used the coalition to invest in a 210-megawatt solar farm in Texas with additional support from the We Sustain Our Future Foundationa nonprofit organization that uses grants to help communities benefit from renewable energy development. Climate tech investors have been exploring the use of so-called catalytic capital, which can help spur additional private investment in technologies or regions that might otherwise be overlooked.
Unlike Google’s announcement, Microsoft has not tied these renewable energy projects to any specific current or planned data centers. Renewable energy credits, or RECs, will likely flow into Microsoft’s overall coffers, as will RECs from other renewable energy developments the company has supported.
Acadia hopes to build the projects over the course of five years.