Apple announced Tuesday that it has signed a deal for 650 megawatts of renewable power in Europe.
This includes wind and solar power projects that are currently in operation or will be in operation soon. A large portion of the electricity they produce is used to offset the energy used by Apple’s customers. The use of everything from the Mac Pro to the Apple Watch accounts for nearly a third of the company’s carbon footprint.
Europe isn’t usually thought of as a sunny continent, but Apple buys energy from several solar farms, including 110 megawatts each in Greece and Latvia, 131 megawatts in Spain, and 40 megawatts in Poland. The wind farm will contribute part of the solar wind portfolio of 99 MW in Romania and 129 MW in Italy.
Separately, Apple announced it will invest $150 million in China to help suppliers switch to renewable energy. Already, more than 90% of the company’s manufacturing and production in the country is powered by renewable energy.
Perhaps the most notable thing about these announcements is that they will appear in the newsrooms of Apple’s regional websites, but not in the feeds of the U.S. press sites. Previously, the company’s press releases about regional renewable power purchases were posted on that feed, perhaps because it didn’t want to anger the Trump administration, which is hostile to renewable energy.
Still, solar and wind, and increasingly grid-scale batteries, have become the go-to energy sources for technology companies looking to power their operations.
Microsoft and Meta have also been consistent buyers of solar power, among other things. This year alone, Meta added more than 2 gigawatts of solar capacity and Microsoft signed a deal to increase the total by 1.5 gigawatts.
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Most big tech companies have committed to transitioning to renewable power, but more pragmatic considerations can help facilitate these deals. Solar and wind are among the cheapest forms of new power generation capacity, cheaper than coal and natural gas. When combined with batteries, which continue to fall in cost, they can provide reliable power 24/7.
Another reason is speed. Solar power plants can be built quickly, with typical projects taking only 18 months to complete. Additionally, it can be completed in stages, allowing parts of the project to come online sooner. That speed could make a big difference for technology companies competing to secure power for data centers and AI operations.
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