Apple has taken the top spot in an annual survey of solar energy use in the business in the United States. Apple is the first technology company to take the top spot.
A new report from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) says Apple, Inc is the business with the largest solar energy capacity. The organization has charted the use of solar energy for the last seven years, and says a tech firm has never before held the top spot.
“Counting both on-site and offsite capacity, Apple takes the top spot with 393 megawatts (MW) of solar installed,” said SEIA in its report Solar Means Business, “marking the first year a company in the tech space sits atop the leaderboard.”
Amazon held the top spot in last year’s report, and took second place this time around. While the firm could be considered a tech firm due to its AWS businesses, but is designated as a retailer for the purposes of this report. Amazon has a total solar energy-generating capacity of 329.8MW, while third-place company, Target, has 242.4MW.
“Top companies are increasingly investing in clean, reliable solar energy because it makes economic sense,” said SEIA president and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper in a statement. “Corporate solar investments will become even more significant as businesses use solar to fight climate change, create jobs and boost local economies.”
As of 2018, Apple’s entire global operation is 100% powered by renewable energy sources. SEIA says Apple snagged the top spot for solar thanks to “a 130MW off-site project that came online in California.”
While the report doesn’t directly identify that project, it is likely referring to the South Monterey solar installation which Apple bought to provide power for Apple Park.
(Via AppleInsider)