Apple adds 650 megawatts of renewables in Europe with more coming in China

Apple introduced Tuesday that it had signed contracts for 650 megawatts of renewable energy in Europe.

This contains wind and photo voltaic tasks which might be both operational or might be quickly. A big chunk of the ability they’ll produce will go towards offsetting the energy use by Apple customers. Use of every part from Mac Pros to Apple Watches accounts for practically one-third of the corporate’s carbon footprint.

Though Europe isn’t normally thought of a sunny continent, Apple is shopping for vitality from a number of photo voltaic farms, together with 110 megawatts every in Greece and Latvia, 131 megawatts in Spain, and 40 megawatts in Poland. Wind farms will contribute 99 megawatts in Romania and a portion of 129 megawatt solar-wind portfolio in Italy.

Individually, Apple additionally mentioned it might make investments $150 million in China to assist its suppliers change to renewable vitality. Already, renewable sources energy greater than 90% of the corporate’s manufacturing and manufacturing within the nation.

Maybe most notable about these bulletins is that they seem within the newsrooms of Apple’s regional web sites, however not within the feed of its U.S. press website. Beforehand, the corporate’s press releases on regional renewable energy purchases have appeared in that feed, maybe out of a want to not draw the ire of the Trump administration, which has been antagonistic to renewables.

Nonetheless, photo voltaic and wind — and more and more grid-scale batteries — have been the go-to supply of vitality for tech firms trying to energy their operations.

Microsoft and Meta have additionally been consistent buyers of solar specifically. This yr alone, Meta has added over 2 gigawatts of photo voltaic capability, and Microsoft has signed offers that elevate its whole by 1.5 gigawatts.

Whereas most huge tech corporations have pledged to maneuver to renewable energy, extra sensible concerns assist drive such offers. Photo voltaic and wind are among the many most cost-effective types of new producing capability, undercutting coal and pure gasoline. When paired with batteries, which proceed to drop in price, they’ll present agency, 24-7 energy.

The opposite cause is pace: Photo voltaic farms may be constructed shortly, with a typical mission requiring simply 18 months to finish. What’s extra, they are often accomplished in phases, permitting a part of the mission to return on-line early. For tech firms, that are in a race to safe energy for his or her information facilities and AI operations, that pace could make a major distinction.