Green energy: Apple continues to expand projects in Europe
Apple wants to purchase 650 MW of additional electricity capacity in the EU. This also includes offsetting the energy hunger of European customers.
Solar farm in Greece with Apple's involvement: Long-term contract.
(Image: Apple)
Apple has announced the expansion of several renewable energy projects within the European Union. The company intends to acquire energy from "large-scale solar and wind farms" currently under construction in Poland, Latvia, Spain, Italy, Romania, and Greece. In total, 650 megawatts of additional capacity are to be fed into European power grids. According to Apple, the resulting investments amount to more than 600 million US dollars – it remained unclear at first how much of this comes from the company. "By 2030, this will generate over one million megawatt-hours of clean electricity for Apple users," the company writes in its announcement.
Device usage to be balanced
Apple aims to become CO₂-neutral by 2030 – across its entire supply chain. However, this is only possible through offset projects. The new wind and solar farms, one of which, a solar power project in Spain, has just been commissioned, are intended to ensure that this also applies to the device usage of Apple customers. The renewable energy projects thus serve the purpose of "balancing the electricity consumption of European customers when charging and using their Apple devices," the company writes. By 2030, they aim to achieve 100 percent in this area, which is likely to be based on calculations and forecasts, as Apple can hardly track the electricity consumption of each individual Apple device.
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Apple wants to give its users "the assurance that all the energy needed to charge their iPhones or operate their Macs will be offset by clean energy," according to Apple's Chief Environmental Officer Lisa Jackson. The company also hopes to simultaneously "contribute to healthy communities, thriving economies, and a secure energy supply across the continent."
Share of electricity consumption in the COâ‚‚ footprint
The iPhone manufacturer also provided details on how much the pure energy consumption of the sold hardware during product use – i.e., for charging and operating the devices – accounts for. In 2024, the company estimates the share to be "about 29 percent of Apple's total greenhouse gas emissions."
Offset projects take into account where the devices are used. Priority is given to renewable energy projects in regions where "power grids with currently higher carbon intensity" prevail. By 2030, a total of around 3.000 gigawatt-hours are to flow into the grids annually. One example is a project in Poland, where a 40 MW solar farm is operating, in Romania a 99 MW wind farm is being added, and in Greece, Apple plans to purchase electricity from a 110 MW solar project.
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