Nothing says you have arrived more than an endorsement by a Fortune 500 corporation. In the race to capture the hearts and minds of American consumers, renewable power has arguably reached critical mass. 


When Apple and Google, two of the world’s largest corporations and purveyors of contemporary digital culture, choose to embrace renewable power, they indicate they care about clean energy.


In February, Apple announced that it has committed to a major purchase of solar power for its new campus being built in Cupertino, Calif. The iPhone maker will pay $848 million to Tempe, Ariz.-based manufacturer First Solar in a 25-year deal. For its part, First Solar is building a 2,900-acre solar project in Cholame, Calif. The Flats Solar Project in Monterey County will provide 130 megawatts (MW) of power to Apple. The remaining 150 MW will be sold to Pacific Gas & Electric. First Solar describes the Apple commitment as the “largest agreement in the industry to provide clean energy to a commercial end-user.”


Meanwhile, Apple’s fellow industry titan has announced a similar arrangement. In a February blog post, David Radcliffe, Google’s vice president of real estate and workplace services, announced that the company has signed a long-term agreement to purchase enough wind power to feed its headquarters in Mountain View, Calif.


The unique agreement involves retrofitting an aging wind farm in the Bay Area’s Altamont Pass. The farm will get new turbines that will produce 43 MW of electricity in 2016.


Radcliffe points out that the facility does not constitute on-site generation. While the electrons that are produced by the new farm “can’t be traced once they enter the grid,” they will match the volume of electricity consumed on the company’s campus. So the power is effectively “offset,” and the investment results in net-zero consumption for the Google headquarters.