The Coal Truth about Intel’s energy use

Intel, like every company, can only get a small percentage of its electricity from unreliable “renewable” sources like solar and wind–which need 24/7 life support. But since being “100% renewable” is fashionable and Intel is rich, Intel pays others to take the blame for its massive use of reliable, “non-renewable” coal, gas, and nuclear power.

The Claim

For more than a decade, companies have looked for opportunities to join the fashionable trend of “going green,” winning themselves praise from celebrities, the media, and political leaders, while drawing in “socially conscious” customers and investors.

The world’s leading chip manufacturer, Intel, has taken a strong public stance in support of “green” causes, championing climate change policies like the Paris Climate Accords that call for dramatically restricting our freedom to use fossil fuels, including coal, and favoring the use of so-called renewables like solar and wind. The company claims to be leading the way by making 100% of its operations rely on “renewable” or “green” energy.

This will be a challenge for the chip manufacturer, as its core business is energy-intensive, and fossil fuels account for more than 80% of the world’s energy usage while solar and wind account for less than 5%.

But Intel claims it has already accomplished 100% reliance on green energy in the US and Europe. In fact, Intel plasters its claims of being “100% renewable” all over its website, in PRs, reports, and interviews, praising itself for “being a global energy sustainability champion.”

By portraying itself as a “green” leader Intel has been able to gain status as a forward-looking, idealistic company spearheading a politically popular cause–and to position itself as superior to less “green” companies including the energy producers who, as we’ll see, supply most of the energy Intel actually uses.

The Lie

When companies claim to be “100% renewable” they want us to think they’re getting 100% of their energy from wind and solar, the two most popular forms of “green,” “renewable” energy. But the truth is that Intel is relying on local electricity grids to supply its energy needs and no grid on the planet can work with anything close to 100% solar and wind.

Solar and wind are intermittent sources that can never produce the right amount of energy at the right time. The wind doesn’t always blow and the sun doesn’t always shine, and so these sources require backup from reliable sources of energy like fossil fuels.

So how can Intel justify its “100%” claim?

It is not easy to find the exact breakdown of Intel’s global energy use, as the company is less than transparent about the real numbers. That itself is revealing. Intel claims that it hopes “our decision to go green will help to further stimulate the renewable energy market and encourage other businesses to follow suit.” If so, we would expect it to educate its like-minded colleagues by openly sharing how it has managed to run its 24/7 operations using intermittent energy sources.

Instead, Intel makes vague claims that mask just how far from “100% renewable” it truly is. For example, Intel’s own climate change statement includes the following statement:

“100% of Intel’s U.S. and E.U. electricity supply and approximately 80% of its global electricity use is either directly purchased as renewable energy or through Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) or generated from on-site alternative energy installations.” – Intel Climate Change Policy Statement 2017

What doesn’t this say? It doesn’t say that Intel gets all of its energy from solar and wind, which is the claim it splashes across its headlines. When it talks about Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) it’s referring to an accounting gimmick where Intel gets to use a conventional mix of energy sources (mostly reliable power supplied by coal, natural gas, or nuclear power) but pay for the privilege of pretending that its factories and offices run on solar panels and wind turbines (as the imagery used on its website suggests).

Here’s an example of how this scheme works. Intel promoted its Leixlip Campus in Ireland as “100% renewable” in a press release. In reality, Intel purchases its power from the local utility Electric Ireland. But Electric Ireland’s grid mix is 12.7% coal, 52.6% natural gas, and less than 30% renewables (probably including hydro and biomass like peat, which many green advocates would oppose).

A grid’s energy mix isn’t like a pie that a utility can divide up and make sure Intel gets only the portion coming from solar and wind. It’s like a cocktail: Electric Ireland has no way to decide what part of that mix goes to which customer. So how does Intel transform “35% renewable” into “100% renewable”?

Intel and Electric Ireland pretend that all the electric power generated from renewable sources goes exclusively to Intel’s supply, while the other Irish customers on the same grid, receiving the same energy mix, get credit for using less renewable energy than they actually use.

Think of it this way. A grid can get away with adding some renewables, the way a healthy person can tolerate the occasional treat–but trying to run on 100% renewables would be like trying to survive on 100% chocolate. Imagine, though, that you wanted to sell people on the fantasy that it was possible to thrive on an all-chocolate diet. Since you can’t actually live on Hershey’s bars and M&Ms, you get nine friends who all agree to replace 10% of their meals with chocolate and you pay them in exchange for “chocolate energy credits.” Then you advertise to the world how you get 100% of your energy from “healthy” chocolate while your friends are forced to deny their chocolate consumption.

That’s basically what Intel is doing with its energy accounting sleight of hand. Just as we wouldn’t praise a 100% chocolate advocate for bankrolling free packets of M&Ms to be dumped in school cafeterias so we shouldn’t praise Intel for using its microchip profits to dump unreliable energy on the grid for consumers.

The Damage

The real news here is not that Intel is 100% renewable–it’s that solar and wind are so inferior that even one of the richest companies on earth can’t power itself through 100% renewable energy despite desperately wanting to.

That should make us incredibly skeptical of policies that favor solar and wind and restrict affordable, reliable sources of energy like coal. Instead, Intel is using the status it gains from being a “green” leader to actively push for anti-fossil fuel policies such as a carbon tax and calling for an 85 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions–policies that will make energy more expensive for millions of Americans and billions around the world.

Intel’s millionaires and billionaires may be able to afford to pay higher energy costs in order to appear “green.” But for poorer Americans, who already spend upwards of 20% of their income on energy, increasing that burden means they have less to spend on everything else–food, clothing, housing, medicine. They have to make painful choices like: a warm home or a necessary medication—a running air conditioner or fresh food.

Our Demands

As members of the coal industry we are proud of our contribution to the digital world and we deserve credit for helping to power it. But Intel’s lies and the lies of the entire 100% renewable movement not only deprive us of credit for our contribution–they help convince voters to pass anti-fossil fuel policies that are driving us out of business.

That is bad for us–and it’s bad for everyone. When tech leaders promote bad energy policies they ultimately restrict access to energy for billions of people–with the poorest people hurting most.

Here’s what Intel must do to right these wrongs:

Retract: Intel should remove all mentions of “100% renewable” from its messaging.
Apologize: Intel should publicly apologize to all Americans including the workers of the coal, oil, natural gas, and nuclear industries.
Educate: Intel should publicly acknowledge the vital role of coal, oil, natural gas, and nuclear for decades to come.

You can help stop this injustice: email Brian Krzanich, CEO of Intel, asking him to apologize–and share The Coal Truth about Intel.