During today's Goldman Sachs conference, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced that Apple is planning its "boldest, biggest, most ambitious project," yet in the form of a 1,300 acre solar farm in Monterey County, California.

The solar farm, which puts out enough power for almost 60,000 California homes, will provide enough renewable energy for Apple's new campus, every other office it has in California, all 52 stores in the state, and its data center in Newark, California. The solar farm is an $850 million project, which Cook says Apple is doing "because it's right to do."

solarfarm.jpg

Image of Apple's North Carolina solar farm courtesy of Gigaom

We know at Apple that climate change is real and our view is that the time for talk has passed and the time for action is now. We've shown that with what we do.

Though highlighting the solar farm as good for the environment, Tim Cook also pointed towards the fiscal benefit of such a decision, explaining that there's a significant price difference between the fixed price of renewable energy and the price of brown energy. "We're thrilled to continue on the course of leaving the world better than we found it," said Cook.

Apple has already built a series of large solar farms in North Carolina, but at $850m, the Monterey County solar farm will be its most ambitious project yet.

Update: Apple will be partnering with First Solar and contributing $848 million to the First Solar California Flats Solar Project in Monterey County, California. Apple will be receiving 130 megawatts of the solar project under a 25-year power purchase agreement, with the remaining 150MW being sold to Pacific Gas & Electric.

Construction on the California Flats Solar Project will begin in mid-2015 and will finish by the end of 2016.

Top Rated Comments

Michael Goff Avatar
119 months ago
As a lifelong apple user and shareholder, the "right thing" for Apple to do is make the best products on earth and make money doing it. When does this $850M project break even and start to be a smart investment for the shareholders?

And this is what's wrong with people today...
Score: 43 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bennibeef Avatar
119 months ago
If Apple really wanted to be friendly to the environment, they would support their devices for more than a couple generations.

You better dont try an android phone/tablet
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ButteryScrollin Avatar
119 months ago
As a lifelong apple user and shareholder, the "right thing" for Apple to do is make the best products on earth and make money doing it. When does this $850M project break even and start to be a smart investment for the shareholders?

If you want them to do things only for ROI reasons, you should get out of this stock.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
soheilk Avatar
119 months ago
As a lifelong apple user and shareholder, the "right thing" for Apple to do is make the best products on earth and make money doing it. When does this $850M project break even and start to be a smart investment for the shareholders?

When the company gets rid of the shareholders like you...
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JesperA Avatar
119 months ago
If Apple really wanted to be friendly to the environment, they would support their devices for more than a couple generations.
I have apple products that is 5-6 generations old and works ok, since i switched to apple product my lifespan of my computers and phones have increased greatly, almost never feel the need to buy a new one.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ahlsn Avatar
119 months ago
As a lifelong apple user and shareholder, the "right thing" for Apple to do is make the best products on earth and make money doing it. When does this $850M project break even and start to be a smart investment for the shareholders?

At the moment they announced it. Since me and many others care about this stuff and wouldn't buy Apple products if they took no responsibility.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 16 Camera Lozenge 2 Perspective Gray

Five Key Upgrades Coming to iPhone 16

Friday March 15, 2024 1:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone is Apple's top-selling product, and it gets an update every year. In 2024, we're expecting the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro lineup, with an arguably more interesting feature set than we got with the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Capture Button All four iPhone 16 models are set to get a whole new button, which will be...
When To Expect New iPads Feature 1

Apple to Announce New iPads on March 26, Rumors Claim

Monday March 18, 2024 4:02 am PDT by
Apple is widely expected to release new iPad Air and OLED iPad Pro models in the next few weeks. According to new rumors coming out of Asia, the company will announce its new iPads on Tuesday, March 26. Chinese leaker Instant Digital on Weibo this morning 日发布%23">claimed that the date will see some sort of announcement from Apple related to new iPads, but stopped short of calling it an...
airpods 3 orange

Two New AirPods 4 Models Expected to Launch in September or October

Sunday March 17, 2024 7:56 am PDT by
Apple suppliers will begin production of two new fourth-generation AirPods models in May, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Based on this production timeframe, he expects the headphones to be released in September or October. Gurman expects both fourth-generation AirPods models to feature a new design with better fit, improved sound quality, and an updated charging case with a USB-C...
iphone se 4 modified flag edges

iPhone SE 4 Expected to Depreciate Heavily

Tuesday March 12, 2024 9:04 am PDT by
Resale value trends suggest the iPhone SE 4 may not hold its value as well as Apple's flagship models, according to SellCell. According to the report, Apple's iPhone SE models have historically depreciated much more rapidly than the company's more premium offerings. The third-generation iPhone SE, which launched in March 2022, experienced a significant drop in resale value, losing 42.6%...
General iOS 17 Feature Orange Purple

iOS 17.4.1 Update for iPhone is Imminent

Monday March 18, 2024 5:27 am PDT by
iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 should be released within the next few days, with a build number of 21E235, according to a source with a proven track record. MacRumors previously reported that Apple was internally testing iOS 17.4.1. As a minor update for the iPhone, it will likely address software bugs and/or security vulnerabilities. It is unclear if the update will include any other changes. ...
iOS 17 Passkey With Apple ACCOUNT Feature

'Apple ID' Expected to Change to 'Apple Account' Starting With iOS 18

Sunday March 17, 2024 7:13 am PDT by
MacRumors was first to report that Apple was planning to rebrand "Apple ID" to "Apple Account" across its software platforms and websites like iCloud.com as early as this year, and now Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has corroborated this change. A mockup of the new Apple Account branding In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said the new "Apple Account" branding will start to be used later this...
M3 iPad Feature 3

New iPads Likely to Begin Shipping in April

Monday March 18, 2024 9:52 am PDT by
Apple's new iPad Pro models with OLED displays will likely begin shipping to customers in April, according to information shared today by Ross Young, CEO of display industry research firm Display Supply Chain Consultants. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman also said the new iPad Pro models might not ship until "deeper" into April in his Power On newsletter on Sunday:I've repeatedly said that new...