Apple to develop two wind and solar energy farms in US

Apple, Akamai, Etsy and Swiss Re announced an agreement to develop two new wind and solar energy farms in Illinois and Virginia.

The new renewable energy projects — spearheaded by Apple — will generate 290 megawatts to the PJM electric grid serving much of the Eastern United States, including areas of Virginia, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland.

Akamai, Etsy and Swiss Re previously had limited opportunity to access large renewable energy projects in the regions covered by the thirteen state PJM wholesale electric market. By collaborating with Apple, these companies were able to access wind and solar power from the new projects at competitive prices and agreement terms.

The group will purchase 125 megawatts from a wind farm near Chicago and 165 megawatts from a solar PV project outside Fredericksburg, Virginia, which will be delivered to the electric grid covered by the PJM wholesale electric market. The projects are expected to come online over the next two years.

The solar and wind projects will be developed by sPower (an AES and AIMCo company) and Geronimo Energy, respectively.

“At Apple, we’re proud to power all of our operations around the world with 100 percent renewable energy,” said Lisa Jackson, Apple’s Vice President of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives.