Apple invests in solar energy
February 11, 2015
Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook told a Goldman Sachs investor conference on Tuesday that the US tech giant was planning to build a 1,300-acre solar farm in Monterey County, California, just a few hours south of corporate headquarters in Cupertino.
About $850 million (751 million euros) had been earmarked for Apple's "biggest and boldest project ever," Cook said.
Cook said the solar farm would be able to produce enough power for almost 60,000 California homes, or translated another way, enough energy to fuel Apple's new spaceship-like campus, which is still under construction, as well as all of its retail and data center locations in California.
"We know at Apple that climate change is real," Cook said. "Our view is that the time for talk is past, and the time for action is now."
Arizona-based First Solar is scheduled to build the 280-megawatt facility. Apple has signed a 25-year contract for electricity from 130 megawatts of the plant's capacity.
First Solar said it will sell the remaining electricity to Pacific Gas & Electric, the major utility for northern California. Construction would begin later this year and the project should be finished by the end of 2016.
Also on Tuesday, Apple became the first US company to close trading with a market value above $700 billion. Record sales and profit in recent quarters have boosted shares. The stock rose 1.9 percent to $122, valuing Apple at more than $710 billion.
uhe/sms (AP, dpa)