Etsy, Akamai and Swiss Re team up with Apple on renewables

The new projects in Illinois and Virginia will provide around 290MW of new capacity

Akamai, Etsy and Swiss Re have teamed up with Apple to develop two new wind and solar energy farms in the US.

The new projects in Illinois and Virginia will provide around 290MW of new capacity to the thirteen-state PJM power grid, producing enough power to supply 74,000 homes and supporting each of the companies’ operations.

Cloud platform Akamai, handmade item retailer Etsy and reinsurance firm Swiss Re previously had limited opportunity to access large renewable energy projects in the regions covered by the PJM grid.

Partnering with Apple means these companies will be able to access wind and solar power from the new projects at competitive prices and agreement terms.

The group will collectively purchase 125MW from a wind farm near Chicago and 165MW from a solar project in Fredericksburg – the projects are expected to become operational by 2020.

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

“In the process, we’ve charted a course for other companies and organisations to purchase renewable energy and transition their own operations to greener power. The collaboration announced today shows how companies of all sizes can address climate change by coming together.”

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