Apple to build first int'l solar project in SW China

A press release from SunPower revealed that each of the two arrays will have a capacity of 20 megawatts. The Hongyuan array has already had two megawatts built and connected to the grid as a pilot. The project is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year.

In this project, SunPower combines single-axis tracking technology with rows of parabolic mirrors, making its solar cells highly efficient, said the press release.

When complete, the project will be co-owned by Sichuan Shengtian New Energy Development Co, Ltd, SunPower's project development joint venture, and Apple, it said.

Noting that the project is built in an environmentally sensitive area, Jackson said it is a beautiful plateau with wonderful sunlight, which is great for solar projects, and an indigenous yak population, which local people raise for a living.

"We will not use cement to install solar panels or dig into the ground to lay cables in order to minimize the project's impact on local ecology and to ensure the pastures flourish," according to Apple.

"We are very proud that we come up with technologies that actually complement the natural environment and preserve the grassland, so that the area can still be used for grazing even as it is producing such a huge amount of clean energy," Jackson said.

Liu Zuoming, Ngawa's Party chief, said the new energy project will not only help protect the environment, but also bring social and ecological benefits to local people.

"We hope that it can be copied and spread to other parts of the prefecture and the province," Liu said.

Jackson said she hopes that this project will set a model for Apple' s suppliers in China to follow. The company has a total of 334 suppliers in China.

"Although they are not our facilities, we believe we should work together to remove their pollution and share climate responsibilities, since they are making Apple equipment," Jackson said. "When the project generates power onto the grid, we will learn a lot about how to do this in China and we are happy to share the information with our suppliers."

Apple has been striving to power all of its facilities worldwide with 100 percent renewable energy, and it has achieved a level of 87 percent so far.

The company increasingly relies on solar power. In February, it announced an ambitious deal to pay $848 million over 25 years to buy electricity from a large solar power plant to be built in Monterey County, California, by First Solar.

Apple also has solar farms built near its data centers in Maiden, North Carolina and Reno, Nevada.