Commercial, Energy Efficiency, Energy Procurement, Industrial, Regulation  -  April 4, 2016

Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft support EPA's Clean Power Plan

Four heavyweight tech companies have made clear their support of the U.S. EPA's Clean Power Plan, which seeks to curb carbon emissions from existing power plants.

As large energy users, Amazon, Apple, Google and Microsoft said in a joint amicus brief to the federal Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that the EPA's rule supports the national shift toward clean energy, and will "help businesses of all sorts invest and benefit from clean energy."

The companies, who have a collective market capitalization of more than $1.7 trillion, said in the filing that they are "uniquely positioned to provide the Court with the perspective of major purchasers of electricity who have committed to ensuring that a significant portion of their electricity purchases are from renewable sources of generation."  Amazon, Apple, Google and Microsoft have each have corporate renewable energy and efficiency targets; Apple made headlines in March when it announced that 93% of its facilities are now powered by renewables. 

The companies said their experiences collectively confirm that the level of renewable energy contemplated by the plan is consistent with market trends, achievable in the time contemplated, and economically sustainable. 

The Clean Power Plan, issued in August 2015,  aims to cut carbon emissions from the power industry by 32% from 2005 levels by 2030. The rule has been challenged in court by 27 states; its fate remains uncertain after the U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay on it in February, pending the outcome of ongoing litigation in the D.C. Circuit court. Oral arguments in that challenge are scheduled for June 2. 

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