SOLAR MAGApple has been making lots of efforts to fulfill its social responsibility for environmental protection and very active in the use and advocacy of renewable energy. It has focused on utilizing renewable energy worldwide to achieve the goal to make 100% of all its facilities worldwide use renewable energy. Just a few days ago, Apple announced to join the RE100 initiative.
Most of the fans of Apple may not know all the power resources supple to Apple’s offices and retail stores in China have already achieved carbon neutral status. This would be attributed to the successful use of the two photovoltaic power plants constructed in Sichuan province, with a total capacity of 40 MWs.
In recent years, Apple has been expanding its investment in the renewable energy field in China. Last year, approved by the Sichuan Provincial Department of Commerce, Apple completed the capital increase for Hongyuan Huanju Ecological Energy and Ruoergai Huanju Ecological Energy. In the same year, Apple cooperated with SunPower to invest in two photovoltaic power plant projects located in the Abazhou District in Sichuan.
Recently, the Qiongxi Photovoltaic Power Plant in Hongyuan County and the Zhuokun Photovoltaic Power Plant in Ruoergai County have started power generation. Either of them is a joint investment from Apple and its partner Zhonghuan Semiconductor Co., Ltd in China. It’s worth mentioning that the photovoltaic power plant in Hongyuan County reaches a capacity of 20 MWs and is regarded as the world’s first high-efficiency ecotype photovoltaic power plant in the plateau area.
Why Apple Favors Investing in Sichuan Province?
Sichuan province is located in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of western China. It has a large temperature difference between day and night, a short frost-free period and unclear distinctions among the four seasons. Moreover, it has adequate light resources, thin clouds and high-quality air. The direct radiation of the sunlight is so strong that the photovoltaic devices here can perform a great efficiency, which can generate more power for the company.
A Short Summary
Constructing photovoltaic power plants in Sichuan, discarding plastic bags and switching to paper bags in retail stores, or utilizing innovative recycling robots to disassemble iPhones – all these reflect Apple’s strong determination to well protect the environment. According to the data from the official site of Greenpeace, Apple’s use ratio of renewable energy in 2011 was only 6.7%. BUT now, about 93% of Apple’s facilities worldwide are using renewable energy; and Apple has achieved 100% renewable energy supply in China and the United States. comment↓
