Why Is Apple Investing In Wind Turbines In Denmark? iPhone Maker Seeks To Be Carbon-Neutral By 2030

Apple (AAPL) recently announced that it was investing in the construction of onshore wind turbines in Denmark as part of its overall strategy to become carbon-neutral by 2030. Upon completion, the turbines will be among the world’s largest.

The turbines, to be built near the Danish town of Esbjerg on the North Sea coast, will serve as a source of “clean, renewable energy that will bring its supply chain and products one step closer to carbon neutrality,” the company stated.

The 656-foot-tall turbines are expected to produce 62-gigawatt hours of energy annually, which is enough to power almost 20,000 homes.

The power produced at Esbjerg will support Apple’s data center in Viborg, a town in north-central Denmark about 90 miles from Esbjerg. All surplus energy produced will go into the general Danish electric power grid.

“Combatting climate change demands urgent action and global partnership -- and the Viborg data center is powerful proof that we can rise to this generational challenge,” said Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of environment, policy and social initiatives. “Investments in clean energy deliver breakthrough innovations that bring clean energy and good jobs to businesses and local communities. This is an area where we have to lead -- for the sake of our planet and future generations.”

Apple will develop the onshore wind turbines with European Energy, a solar energy equipment supplier based in Soborg, Denmark.

"We are very pleased to work with Apple and look forward to delivering renewable energy to their Danish data center and support the development of green data infrastructure of the future," said CEO Knud Erik Anderson.

Apple’s Viborg data center is a 484,000-square-foot facility that offers network support and data storage to its users across the region.

The Viborg facility is also powered by a solar plant in Thisted in Northern Jutland, in northwestern Denmark. That was the first Danish solar project built without the use of public subsidies.

Apple has supported other wind projects as well.

Last year, the company introduced the China Clean Energy Fund which has invested in three wind farms.

One of the projects is the Concord Jing Tang wind farm, located in Dao County in Hunan, China. It was developed by Hong Kong-based Concord New Energy Group and has a capacity of 48 megawatts of energy. The other two wind projects comprise Concord Shen Zhang Tang (which also has a 48 MW capacity), and a 38 MW farm in neighboring Hubei province that was developed by Fenghua Energy Investment Group.

Apple and 10 of its Chinese suppliers plan to invest about $300 million by 2022 to develop wind projects totaling one gigawatt of renewable energy in the country.

“To see these projects completed and already supplying clean energy to the grid is really exciting,” said Jackson. “We are proud that suppliers participating in the fund share our commitment to supporting innovative energy solutions, cutting emissions and fighting climate change.”