Apple aiming for 100% renewable energy at new Arizona plant
IT giant working with GT Advanced and Salt River Project on mammoth new manufacturing plant and geothermal, solar applications are under construction
The American IT giant Apple is building a manufacturing plant in Arizona and is planning for the new hub to be powered by 100 per cent renewable energy.
Apple have partnered with GT Advanced to build the plant and have also negotiated with the state and local power company, Salt River Project (SRP), about how to power it with renewable energy sources.
New solar and geothermal applications are being constructed as part of the project.
SRP has recently signed numerous agreements to purchase as much as 75 megawatts of energy from renewable sources, though it is unclear how much of that is in relation to the Apple deal.
The agreements are in addition to over 700 megawatts of green power SRP has already has already acquired and they expect the new Apple facility to draw a significant amount of power.
Apple has made significant efforts to improve their environmental performance in recent years and their products almost all meet the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) Gold standard.
Products are now made from highly recyclable glass and metals and it has been widely acknowledged that their hardware and software has made great progress in terms of energy efficiency.
The company recorded 75 per cent renewable energy use last year and is aiming to boost that share to 100 per cent.
Apple announced Lisa Jackson, former United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief, as environmental director in May 2013 and she will oversee the companies sustainability issues.
