Report: Clean Energy is Calling

(Climate Action, 24 Jul 2019) In 2017, Green America launched a campaign titled “Hang Up on Fossil Fuels” that urges the two largest telecom companies in the U.S., AT&T and Verizon, to set a goal of reaching 100% renewable energy by 2025. This report was originally published in March 2018, and in the past year, there have been considerable updates and progress to include in this new version.

In 2017, Green America launched a campaign titled “Hang Up on Fossil Fuels” that urges the two largest telecom companies in the U.S., AT&T and Verizon, to set a goal of reaching 100% renewable energy by 2025. This report was originally published in March 2018, and in the past year, there have been considerable updates and progress to include in this new version. 

THE PROBLEM 

The telecom sector uses enormous amounts of energy each year. The sector is using enough electricity to power all the households in New York City. The four largest companies – AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile – collectively use more than 30 million MWh of electric power each year. AT&T and Verizon, the two leading US companies in the industry, have a combined electricity usage that could power 2.6 million homes for a year. Historically, the vast majority of this sector was powered on fossil fuel energy, but there have been steps taken to increase its use of clean energy in the past year. After Green America announced its “Hang Up on Fossil Fuels” campaign in 2017, tens of thousands of consumers reached out to AT&T and Verizon urging them to use clean energy.

A large portion of this energy (90%) powers wireless access networks, towers and other infrastructure allowing cell phone users to access data and connect nationwide.

The bulk of the energy used by telecoms goes to power wireless networks, towers, and other infrastructure. Data centers make up the remainder of the energy used and are a rapidly growing driver of climate emissions worldwide. Data centers are central locations of computing and networking equipment and have existed since computers became a part of our lives. The telecommunications industry relies heavily on these centers and access networks running 24/7 so we can access them at anytime, and stay connected to our friends and families. That connectivity comes at a high environmental cost since data centers and networks serving the telecom industry are powered by fossil fuels.

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Climate Action, 24 Jul 2019: Report: Clean Energy is Calling