Apple Acquires Renewable Energy Power Plant in Oregon

Apple, the American electronics conglomerate, has reportedly bought a renewable energy power plant in Oregon. The purchase was driven by Apple's commitment to make all its data centers powered entirely with renewable energy.

Local paper Oregon Live has reported that the tech giant has taken over a small hydroelectric project at a Central Oregon site near its new data center in Prineville.

The amount of electricity used in the data center to power the thousands of computers and devices would match that of a small city, according to Oregon Live.

Apple has previously openly stated that it has invested significant amounts of money in renewable energy including wind farms, to help lower its carbon footprint.

Its official statement on this subject has read: “Our goal is to power every facility at Apple entirely with energy from renewable sources solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal. So we're investing in our own onsite energy production, establishing relationships with suppliers to procure renewable energy off the grid, and reducing our energy needs even as our employee base grows."

“Our investments are paying off. We've already achieved 100 per cent renewable energy at all of our data centers, at our facilities in Austin, Elk Grove, Cork, and Munich, and at our Infinite Loop campus in Cupertino. And for all of Apple's corporate facilities worldwide, we're at 75 percent, and we expect that number to grow as the amount of renewable energy available to us increases. We won't stop working until we achieve 100 per cent throughout Apple.”

Many of the biggest Internet companies operate data centers in Oregon, including Facebook, Amazon and Google. They're drawn in part by the region's relatively low power prices, and to a much greater extent by tax exemptions on their expensive computers. A big data center can cost $1 billion or more to equip.