Knudsen Launches Investigation Into Major Tech Companies

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen led a coalition of 16 attorneys general in launching an investigation into major tech companies regarding their misleading and deceptive claims they are solely powered by renewable energy.

In a letter sent Wednesday, Sept. 24, to Microsoft, Meta, Google and Amazon executives, Knudsen outlined his concerns with false claims the companies have made about their energy use and the impact it could have on the nation’s electric grid. The companies rely on purchased certificates to offset emissions, which threatens the integrity of the electrical grid as utility companies are shutting

down necessary coal and natural gas plants.

These claims could be a violation of Montana’s Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act if the organization is providing misleading and deceptive information to Montanans.

These companies are purchasing unbundled “renewable energy certificates”, which are tradeable credits showing renewable energy was produced and added to the grid. It allows these companies to claim they use renewable energy, even though they are consuming fossil fuels, especially at their data centers, which threatens the reliability of the electrical grid.