Google is now introducing a tool that shows its cloud users which cloud regions are best for the climate. With this innovation, Google hopes to assist its clients in selecting the most environmentally friendly data center location for their new cloud deployments.
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There are several factors to consider when deciding which Google Cloud data center location to host an application. The latency experienced by end customers may change from one area to the next. The cost of cloud services may vary from one data center location to the next. But the carbon intensity of the electricity utilized to power an application might differ as well.
Within the Google Cloud Console location selectors, the company therefore is now displaying cloud regions with the lowest carbon effect.
The new functionality is currently available in Google Cloud Console’s location selectors, which allows Google users to control the different components that their cloud apps interact with, such as cloud regions and databases being used. A leaf symbol from now on will be used to represent the locations with the least environmental impact. Google Cloud regions will also be labeled as having the lowest CO2 emissions.
It’s available at the moment for Google Cloud Run and Datastream, with plans to expand to other Google Cloud services in the future.
Carbon-Free Energy (CFE)
By 2030, Google wants to have carbon-free energy (CFE) equal its energy use every hour and in every location. Today, the company still utilizes electricity from the grid where each Google Cloud region is located to power it. Depending on the sort of power plants providing energy for that grid and when it’s being consumed, this electricity produces more or less carbon emissions. Google uses this statistic called ‘CFE%’ to describe each cloud data center location.
Google explains the CFE% metric as follows. This is the average percentage of carbon-free energy consumed in a certain place on an hourly basis, taking into account the renewable energy expenditures that have been made in that location. This implies that, in addition to the carbon-free electricity provided by the grid, we’ve added renewable energy generation in that area to meet our goal of carbon-free energy 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This is the average percentage of time your application will operate on carbon-free energy as a client.
To be eligible for this leaf symbol, a site must be in an area with a Google CFE% of at least 75%, or a grid carbon intensity of no more than 200 gCO2eq/kWh if CFE% information is not available.
The grid carbon intensity (gCO2eq/kWh) metric is explained by Google in the following manner. This measure represents the average lifetime gross emissions from the grid per unit of electricity. This measure should be used to compare areas based on the carbon intensity of their local grid power. When your workload is not operating on carbon free energy, this will display the relative emissions for regions with comparable CFE percent. Frankfurt and the Netherlands, for example, have comparable CFE ratings, but the Netherlands has a larger emissions factor.
