T-Mobile Commits To Using 100% Green Energy By 2021
The first wireless carrier in the United States has made the pledge to become 100 percent renewable by 2021. They've signed off on a second wind farm and will receive around 60 percent of their power from that source starting in 2019.
Updated May 22 2019, 4:44 p.m. ET
T-Mobile is making a serious commitment into renewable energy for their future. The wireless carrier has announced that they will be fully powered by sustainable sources by 2021. How? Part of it will come from a second wind farm in Kansas that the company is going to invest in. They’ll be joining others in the RE100 group that’s committed to renewable power.
Calling themselves the “Un-carrier” for not requiring contracts to use their mobile service, T-Mobile has completed a new contract support Infinity Renewables’ Solomon Forks Wind Project in Kansas. It’ll feature a capacity of 160 megawatts and it’s expected to be online in 2019.
The mobile service supported another wind farm in Oklahoma, called the Red Forks Wind Power Project. That was also at a capacity of 160 megawatts. In total, T-Mobile can expect to generate 60 percent of their energy needs from these renewable sources alone.
“It’s the Un-carrier way to do the right thing by our customers, and moving to renewable energy is just a natural part of that,” John Legere, CEO of T-Mobile, said in a press release. “And it’s not just the right thing to do – it’s smart business! We expect to cut T-Mobile’s energy costs by around $100 million in the next 15 years thanks to this move. Imagine the awesome things we can do for our customers with that!”
T-Mobile is the first wireless carrier in the United States to commit to 100 percent renewable energy. Companies like AT&T and Verizon have dedicated more of their resources to green energy by 2025, but haven’t made a full commitment like the “Un-carrier.”
They become the latest company to join the RE100, a global initiative created by The Climate Group that links corporations together when they make renewable decisions. Over 100 businesses have made the commitment to 100 percent renewable energy. Microsoft, Ebay, Facebook, Google, and Wal-Mart are just some of the corporations that have made the pledge.
“It’s great to see T-Mobile US shifting to renewables for its power consumption,” Sam Kimmins, head of RE100, said in a press release. “As a large electricity consumer in the US, they can truly transform energy systems by bringing significant renewable capacity online – all of that while delivering real value to their customers. I congratulate them for a great commitment.”
With T-Mobile’s announcement, expect to see some of the other wireless carriers across the country make the full pledge. According to the CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project), there’s been a 23 percent increase in companies that have renewable energy targets and a 36 percent increase with investment into their own renewable source since 2016.
