It is clear that as the energy demand of the internet grows, with the shift to cloud computing, the supply of renewable energy must also keep pace to prevent having negative impacts on the climate.
Executive summary: As cloud computing becomes more common and demands on the internet grow, major companies hosting online services are using more and more energy for their data centers. This report looks at the contribution of cloud computing to climate change and what can be done by the ICT sector to help bring about, and benefit from, strong renewable energy policies and economy-wide emissions reductions.
Make IT Green: Cloud Computing and its Contribution to Climate Change” [PDF]