Apple is feel very energetic these days.
The tech giant has just agreed to back two enormous solar farms in China. This deal just so happens to be the biggest of its kind for a U.S. native company operating across seas in china, and this is just the beginning.
China has been changing the way they invest in power. The country has been installing more renewable power capacity as opposed to fossil fuels for nearly a decade, and this gap keep growing. China will have 15 gigawatts of solar power alone, which is double the solar power in the United Sates.
The chart below shows how China is on track to have more low carbon electricity than the entire U.S. power grid.
Tim Cook announced this deal back in February, which totals $850 million. The plan is to power all of Apple’s operations such as offices, headquarters, stores and data centers. By importing this clean energy, manufacturing pollution will be greatly reduced. Manufacturing in China will go green, and apple is hoping this curbs the negative connotations associated with overseas work.
Apple is buying 40 megawatts, which is big for a corporation, but China plans to turn on 40 mw per day in 2015. The price of solar energy is finally dropping enough to make it cost effective, and many other companies will most likely follow suit. Wal-Mart and Costco have been stepping their solar powered game up as well, so expect a gradual change over the next few years.
This project is expected to be completed by the end of 2015.
