In January, lawmakers in Oregon introduced a bill to the state legislature that seeks to curb the carbon footprint of new data centers and cryptocurrency miners. These facilities have popped up quickly across Oregon due to relatively low power costs and favorable tax incentives. New data centers and cryptocurrency mining facilities were needed to run entirely on clean energy sources by 2040. state climate goals Established in 2021.
On Monday, the bill, known as HB2816, died in the legislative committee. Proponents of the measure point to aggressive lobbying by the United States. Amazonworks Several In-state data centers as the main culprits behind the bill’s demise.
Amazon’s opposition to clean energy measures is at odds with its broader efforts to improve its environmental impact. The company has committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2040 as part of its Climate Pledge launched in 2019.
Rep. Pam Marsh of Oregon, co-sponsor of HB2816, said in an interview:
Marsh, a Democrat representing Oregon’s 5th District, said representatives from Oxley & Associates, a lobbying firm hired by Amazon, will eventually hear the bill in the Capitol Hall. Witnessed talking to a member of a state legislative committee.
Amazon Web Services spokesperson David Ward declined to comment on the company’s lobbying efforts related to the bill, but it addresses building the infrastructure needed to bring more clean energy to the U.S. power grid. It acknowledged Amazon’s objection to this measure as it could not.
“Building new renewable projects requires infrastructure investment in the grid, but today there are hurdles in key areas such as permitting and interconnection,” Ward said in a statement. “Energy infrastructure that accelerates the permitting and interconnection of renewables such as solar and wind will have a significant impact on reducing emissions, bringing more clean energy to the grid and more clean energy in Oregon. It helps us achieve our goal of accessing the
Experts say the country’s outdated electricity grid remains an obstacle to accelerating the transition to clean energy sources. Today, more than 70% of U.S. power lines are older than his 25 years, according to. White HouseBuilding a new transmission line is a long and laborious process as it requires the consent of multiple stakeholders involved, from utility companies and regulators to land owners.
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Data centers are very energy intensive. According to the US Department of Energy, US data centers consumed an estimated 70 billion kilowatt hours in 2014. This represents about 1.8% of the total US electricity consumption for that year.
Amazon relies on huge server farms to power its vast cloud computing services, which are the company’s main source of revenue. Amazon has promised to run all of its data centers on renewable energy, but has yet to completely phase out fossil fuels.
Amazon, Tuesday announced The company has selected the Umatilla Electric Cooperative, a utility company operating in Oregon’s Umatilla and Morrow counties, and the energy supply to power its data centers, including renewable energy sources. Agreed. Amazon says the deal will help the company power the Oregon region with at least 95 percent renewable energy.
Bill changes didn’t appease Amazon, Marsh says
Amazon also claims that lawmakers did not engage Oregon data center operators or owners when drafting the bill.
However, Marsh disputes that claim.
The commission removed a provision penalizing companies for failing to meet their clean energy targets and added a provision allowing them to opt out of the bill. Both actions were attempts to create goodwill, according to Marsh.
“If we get to 2030 and there is a lot of global disruption and we can’t meet our clean energy goals, we can opt out by filing this paperwork,” Marsh said. We made good, strong changes to the bill, but Amazon’s objections didn’t change at all.”
Marsh said Amazon will become part of the state’s data center operations. bloom energy.
Amazon said fuel cells will be used for a small portion of its statewide data center operations. The hope is to power the fuel cell with renewable energy such as hydrogen or biogas.
Amazon Employees for Climate Justice, a group of tech workers at Amazon who previously pressured the company to address its record of climate change, said they were disappointed the bill had stalled. The group supported the bill, and AECJ member Sarah Tracy, a former Amazon software developer, testified at hearings on the bill.
The AECJ created a petition in 2019 to urge then-CEO Jeff Bezos to rethink its environmental impact. Even after Bezos announced his pledge to climate change, the group withdrew because they felt the pledge was not strong enough. Two employees who were heavily involved with the group, Maren Costa and Emily Cunningham, were fired after repeatedly speaking out about Amazon’s climate and workplace records. Amazon later settled with Costa and Cunningham after it determined that they had wrongfully dismissed them on the grounds that they had been fired.
An AECJ spokesperson told CNBC: “The level of hypocrisy here is the naming of sports arenas after ‘climate change pledges’ to gain influence, while working to circumvent basic clean energy requirements that public utilities have. I feel sorry for the sustainability team here — how long will it take for Amazon and the rest of the economy to switch to renewable energy before catastrophe hits? We know better than anyone how short it is, so we’re working hard…we’re undermining that mission by building a new dirty energy infrastructure.”
Although the bill is finished for now, Marsh said the conversation continues about compelling data centers and encryption facilities to meet Oregon’s clean energy goals. She added that it could come back in another form.