Microsoft’s Fairwater data center near Atlanta is part of the company’s broader AI expansion. (Microsoft Photo)
Microsoft is considering scaling down or scuttling a pledge to match its electricity use with carbon-free power around the clock by 2030, according to Bloomberg.
As tech companies race to bring more energy-hungry data centers online, their climate targets are growing increasingly difficult to hit. Microsoft has been a vocal leader in climate action, setting ambitious emissions goals and backing carbon-reducing technologies — but that momentum appears to be softening on multiple fronts.
Last month, the New York Times reported that the Redmond, Wash.-based company was pausing its future purchases of carbon removal credits, though company leadership said the program wasn’t ending. Microsoft has been the driving force in that industry, which includes startups that pull carbon from the air or capture it from industrial emissions, nature-based solutions for storing or trapping carbon in soil or rocks.
And following years of announcements celebrating new renewable energy projects, Bloomberg reported in March that Microsoft was in “exclusive talks” with Chevron and Engine No. 1 to develop a gas-powered plant in Texas that would generate electricity for a data center campus.
The company is standing by its sustainability targets.
“Microsoft remains committed to its company goals to be carbon negative, water positive, zero waste, and protect ecosystems. In 2025, we met a milestone on this journey by matching 100% of our annual global electricity consumption with renewable energy,” said Melanie Nakagawa, Microsoft’s chief sustainability officer, in an emailed statement.
Microsoft and cross-town rival Amazon have both hit the goal of matching their total energy use with purchases of an equal quantity of clean power. But in 2021, Microsoft raised the bar by committing to round-the-clock renewable energy matching — a harder target to hit given that sources like wind and solar aren’t always available.
The company even teamed up with Seattle startup LevelTen Energy, Google, and two clean energy companies in 2023 to create a marketplace for organizations pursuing all renewable power 24/7.
Bloomberg, citing unnamed sources, reported that discussions over the tougher energy purchase goal were ongoing, with no final decision reached.
Nakagawa did not directly address the target in her statement, adding that Microsoft continually reviews and adjusts its climate approach “as markets mature, policy environments evolve, and emerging innovative solutions scale.”
“Any adjustments we make are part of our disciplined approach — not a change in our long-term ambition,” she said.
Those ambitions keep getting harder to reach. Microsoft CFO Amy Hood said last month that capital expenditures — which largely fund data centers and hardware — would exceed $40 billion in the current quarter, setting a new record. Total capital spending is expected to hit $190 billion this year.
The computing facilities are the top contributor to Microsoft’s expanding carbon footprint driven by their energy demands and the carbon-intensive steel and concrete required to build them. Microsoft’s carbon impact grew 23.4% from 2020 to 2024, even as the company is still targeting net zero emissions by the end of the decade.
Despite those challenges, Microsoft is still signing clean energy deals. It recently agreed to deploy 1.2 gigawatts of solar and battery projects in Wisconsin with We Energies — roughly half of Seattle City Light’s total generation capacity. The energy is expected to come online in December 2028, a company spokesperson said.
