Apple’s $4.7 Bn Green Bond Spend Will Help Generate 1.2 GW Renewable Energy

Apple’s newly completed projects, part of the company’s USD 4.7 billion Green Bond spend will generate 1.2 GW of renewable energy globally

Apple’s newly completed renewable projects, part of the company’s planned USD 4.7 billion Green Bond spend, are bringing clean energy to local communities while reducing carbon emissions. In 2020, Apple funded 17 Green Bond projects that will avoid an average of 921,000 metric tons of carbon emissions annually, which is equivalent to removing nearly 200,000 cars from the road. The projects will generate 1.2 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy globally, with Apple adding over 350 megawatts (MW) of newly installed renewable energy over the last year in Nevada, Illinois, Virginia, and Denmark. 

Apple’s Green Bond issuances are among the largest in the private sector.

The newly completed Turquoise solar farm in Nevada.

“Apple is dedicated to protecting the planet we all share with solutions that are supporting the communities where we work,” said Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives. “We all have a responsibility to do everything we can to fight against the impacts of climate change, and our USD 4.7 billion investment of the proceeds from our Green Bond sales is an important driver in our efforts. Ultimately, clean power is good business.”

Since the climate change agreement at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris, Apple has invested the proceeds from three issuances of Green Bonds to support global efforts in carbon emissions reductions. In February 2016, the company issued its first USD 1.5 billion Green Bond, following up with its second round of USD 1 billion in June 2017 after the former US Administration’s announcement of its intention to withdraw from the agreement reached at COP21. In November 2019, Apple issued its third set of Green Bonds and its first in Europe, with two bonds each at 1 billion euros (totaling approximately 2.2 billion USD).

In addition to those detailed in Apple’s Green Bond Impact Report, the company has continued funding new projects that support low carbon design and engineering, energy efficiency, renewable energy, carbon mitigation, and carbon sequestration. The tech giant has allocated more than half of its total Green Bond spend — USD 2.8 billion — and has said that it will continue to invest in projects that address carbon emissions. 

Last July, the company unveiled its plan to become carbon neutral across its entire business, manufacturing supply chain, and product life cycle by 2030. Apple is already carbon neutral today for its global corporate operations, and this new commitment means that by 2030, every Apple device sold will have net-zero climate impact.

Recent Projects:

Onsite solar project outside of Reno, Nevada: A 180-acre site located within the Reno Technology Park is now providing power to Apple’s Nevada data center. The site is delivering 50 MW of renewable power, joining the company’s three other Nevada projects that deliver 270 MW.

Wind farm outside of Chicago: A 112-MW virtual power purchase agreement with this wind farm in Illinois covers Apple’s electricity use in the Chicago region.

Solar project in Fredericksburg, Virginia: Through an innovative agreement, Apple worked with Etsy, Akamai, and SwissRE to support the development of 165 megawatts of renewable power through a solar photovoltaic project outside Fredericksburg, Virginia, which is now delivering energy to the broader electric grid in the region.

Largest onshore wind turbines in Denmark: Apple has completed the construction of two of the world’s largest onshore wind turbines, a source of clean, renewable energy that is now operational. Each 200-meter-tall turbine expected to produce 62 gigawatt-hours each year.