Have you ever stopped to think that all of your Facebook photos, comments, and updates are stored on servers somewhere in the world? And that these servers are plugged in 24/7 to keep the largest social network on the planet up and running?
With the growth of the Internet, datacenters like Facebook’s have become major consumers of electricity. So far, these server farms have not been running on clean and renewable energy, but this story is beginning to change.
In partnership with Greenpeace, Facebook recently announced a program promoting the generation and use of clean energy. Facebook is also encouraging its users to press lawmakers for policies and investment in renewable energy sources. This was the result of a two-year Greenpeace campaign, with the support of 700,000 Internet users, asking Facebook to use clean energy instead of coal to power their datacenters.
Facebook’s plans include using clean and renewable energy and sharing its expertise in energy efficiency with other IT companies through the Open Compute Project, an industrial network that works to develop more efficient and sustainable technologies.
