Cleantech
Apple Says Worldwide Facilities Now 75% Powered by Renewables

Jennifer Elks
Published 11 years ago. About a 2 minute read.

Apple now uses 100% renewable energy sources to power its data centers, taking it to 75% renewables across its worldwide corporate facilities, according to its latest Environmental Progress report. The company says its data centers are powered by a combination of solar, wind, hydro and geothermal.

Apple said a 100-acre solar farm next to its largest data center, in Maiden, North Carolina, became fully operational in December. With the solar array and a large installation of fuel cells, which convert biogases into energy, Apple said it met a goal of generating 60 percent of the energy for the data center on-site.

Last year, Greenpeace International ranked Apple 12th out of 14 large technology companies in a report called “How Clean Is Your Cloud?” In response to Apple’s announcement today, Greenpeace’s Senior IT Analyst Gary Cook said: “Apple’s announcement shows that it has made real progress in its commitment to lead the way to a clean energy future. Apple’s increased level of disclosure about its energy sources helps customers know that their iCloud will be powered by clean energy sources, not coal.

“As it keeps growing the cloud, Apple still has major roadblocks to meeting its 100% clean energy commitment in North Carolina, where renewable energy policies are under siege and electric utility Duke Energy is intent on blocking wind and solar energy from entering the grid," Cook continued. "To show how it can help remove those roadblocks, Apple should disclose more details about how it will push utilities and state governments to help it achieve its ambitious goal in all of its data center locations.”

Earlier this month, Salesforce also announced a goal of becoming fully powered by renewable energy.

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