Tech giant Apple have advised that they are investigating a possible expansion into Australia’s energy market – what will ‘Apple solar’ mean for their presence in Australia and how will it help mitigate the myriad renewable energy challenges companies wanting to be eco-friendly face?
Apple Solar – Where to from here?
According to the Financial Review, the senior vice-president of environment, policy, and social iniatives Lisa Jackson, said that although the company is already 100% renewable in Australia (they purchase renewable energy from retailers), Apple are planning to “move closer to the supply of electricity” in Australia.
“So we’re scouting, so we’re looking for more opportunities. I think there’s always a way to change the way we lower our carbon footprint in Australia, whether it be solar or wind,” Ms Jackson said in an interview at Apple HQ in California.
In the USA Apple created its own company (Apple Energy) and entered into a power purchase agreement with the 280MW California Flats solar project – with this they were able to power Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino and also look for opportunities from both the generation and purchasing side of renewable energy.
The Norman Foster designed Apple Park Mark II, which is estimated to cost around $5 billion USD and will house 12,000 employees, will also be 100% renewable. 75% of the energy it’ll require will be created from solar panels on the roofs of buildings and the carpark, and biogas fuel cells will also be installed at the Cupertino ‘campus’.
If you want to learn more about ‘the best office building in the world’ click the video below to see a drone tour in 4k of the Apple Campus 2 / Apple Park under construction (the footage was filmed in July 2017 and the park, while opened in April this year, is still a few months away from completion). Alternatively if you’re interested in Apple’s environmental efforts you can click here and view their 2017 ‘Environmental Responsibility Progress Report’.
We’re eagerly awaiting to see what Apple decide to do in Australia! Assumably it won’t be on the same scale as their California ventures but they’ve done a great job so far in working with renewables and we’re excited to see what the future brings.
