Register

Peak Oil is You


Donate Bitcoins ;-) or Paypal :-)


Page added on June 23, 2016

Bookmark and Share

Apple’s energy bombshell

Apple’s energy bombshell thumbnail

Apple will soon be selling more than MacBooks, iPhones, iPads and watches to consumers. It may also be selling electricity.

In what is being regarded as something of a bombshell in the energy markets – albeit a long predicted one – Apple has quietly has created a new subsidiary called Apple Energy, and asked to obtain a licence to sell electricity directly to consumers, rather than back to the grid via the wholesale market.

gallery_slide_2

Solar array supporting Apple’s Maiden, North Carolina data centre Image Credit: Apple

The software giant’s intent is clear. Apple has vowed to source all of its electricity from renewable energy sources. It has already reached 93 per cent, buying the output of a host of large-scale solar projects in the US, wind projects, its own rooftop arrays, as well as a 1.1MW rooftop array in Singapore and aggregating the output from 800 different solar arrays.

The next step is to sell the output of its contracted and owned solar, hydro and biogas plants to its suppliers, to ensure that its supply chain is also sourcing all of its energy needs from renewables.

A further step, say analysts, will be to sell that output to consumers, possibly in conjunction with purchases of products such as iPhone and iPads, or even with electric vehicles. As we reported last month, Apple is spending more on research into EVs and autonomous vehicles than it did on iPhones, iPads and Apple watches combined.

There’s two good reasons for this. One is corporate reputation; Apple, like so many other major US and European companies, has signed up to become 100 per cent renewable. That is what the millennial generation expects of them.

The second is economic. Apple currently sells its excess electricity back into the grid at wholesale rates. If it can sell that electricity to its suppliers, and then to its customers, it is likely to get a significantly higher rate.

Apple already has contracts with 521MW of solar projects worldwide announced to date, making it one of the largest solar power end-users in the world.

Apple has sought permission to operate as an energy company from the FERC, the main US federal regulator. It filed its request on June 6 and wants an answer by August 6.

Tim Healy, the co-founder, CEO and chairman of EnerNoc, describes the move as a fundamental shift in the energy world and says its implications are vast.

“Essentially, Apple is seeking the ability to sell the renewable energy it generates to other businesses and consumers at retail prices,” he writes.

“Without FERC’s approval, Apple will only be able to sell its energy to energy providers and utilities at wholesale prices. Apple Energy would more or less act as an energy provider itself, enabling the company to leverage its investments in renewable energy like wind and solar to generate new revenue from an entirely new market.

“Most large organisations struggle to even know how much energy they’re using annually, much less operate a standalone energy company in what is one of the most highly regulated industries in the US. But Apple’s actions are driven by a few key trends that will likely impact most large enterprises – if not today, then in the relatively near future,” Healy writes.

“First – the discussions around corporate commitments to combat climate change are heating up (pardon the pun), and if your business doesn’t have a proactive strategy, regulations and mandates will eventually force you to develop one.

“Few businesses can go as far as Apple, but all organisations can start to mitigate risk by reducing their reliance on fossil fuel-generated power and setting science-based carbon reduction goals.


“With Apple’s aggressive head start at creating a diversified energy portfolio, the company has positioned itself to face the fallout of unexpected natural disasters, while also reducing its exposure to energy price volatility, increasingly strict regulations on carbon reductions, and the downstream effects of geopolitical upheaval that can disrupt energy markets at any given moment.”

And there is the impact on the incumbent energy industry. New technologies – not just in renewables, but in storage, and in software – mean the game is changing rapidly.

And as the industry becomes more digitalised and adapts to new business models, it is highly unlikely the providers of electricity in the new world may not be the same as those in the past. In fact, it will probably come from firms with the biggest marketing power – which is why the likes of Apple, Google, Facebook and telcos such as Telstra are looking at the sector with such interest.

reneweconomy.com.au



27 Comments on "Apple’s energy bombshell"

  1. dooma on Fri, 24th Jun 2016 2:10 am 

    Effing Apple. They particularly enjoy making built to fail products.

    Have you ever been to a service centre on a weekend lol?

    Their phones have a “drop once” design.

    There unique chargers, very clever marketing and reluctance to support a product considered out of date makes sure that e-waste is a sure thing.

    *sent from an android phone 🙂

  2. makati1 on Fri, 24th Jun 2016 2:45 am 

    Apple. Good name. They rot if kept too long meaning after the newest version comes out. Can’t wait for Silicon Valley to be swallowed up by an earthquake. Or their manufacturers to go bankrupt in Asia. Imagine! All of those techies having to get a real job, at McDonalds.

  3. Davy on Fri, 24th Jun 2016 4:28 am 

    I have had a Iphone for years zero issues. I guess you just have to be an adult to use one.

  4. baha on Fri, 24th Jun 2016 5:59 am 

    The utilities are going down. Sell now before it’s too late.

  5. Kenz300 on Fri, 24th Jun 2016 9:02 am 

    Wind and solar are the future………… the fossil fuel industry just keeps funding Climate Change deniers..

    More big companies are switching to wind and solar to power their businesses…….

    Big Coal Funded This Prominent Climate Change Denier, Docs Reveal

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/roy-spencer-peabody-energy_us_57601e12e4b053d43306535e

    Solar Added More New Capacity Than Coal, Natural Gas and Nuclear Combined

    http://ecowatch.com/2016/06/09/solar-new-capacity/

  6. JuanP on Fri, 24th Jun 2016 9:45 am 

    Yawn! My wife and I like our iPhones, iPads, MacBooks, and iPods very much, but we have NEVER bought one and never will; they were all gifts. My wife’s boss gives her an Apple product every year as a gift. It has become a tradition by now. I guess this year she will get the watch. We are not the kind of people who would waste money on crap like that.

    Anyone who thinks Apple’s involvement will make any difference to the coming energy crises is tripping. This is a non news item.

  7. PracticalMaina on Fri, 24th Jun 2016 10:23 am 

    Foxconn switched a large part of the workforce to robots, now they are going to have solar powering those robots, robots making robots with solar, were fucked.
    Some real energy bombshells.
    http://qz.com/714381/siemens-says-it-can-power-unlimited-range-electric-trucks-using-a-150-year-old-technology/

  8. makati1 on Fri, 24th Jun 2016 10:27 am 

    Apple, as a company has passed it’s “sell by” date and is running out of techie ideas that sell. Not to mention buyers with a job and money.

  9. Croatian Holiday Maker on Fri, 24th Jun 2016 10:40 am 

    iElectricity.lol

    Good move. Despite all the negativity expressed above, Apple makes superior products. I still have my four year old iPad2 with GPS and 3G and it still amazes me that by 16:00 you can park your car in a deserted area, go to booking.com and book the hotel for the night 100 km down the road.

    Apple is a perfect marketing company and they recognize a trend if they see one. Apple is setting the trend in that it renewably generates all the energy it needs. I trust them to be successful with their investments and the enormous load of cash they are sitting upon.

  10. Davy on Fri, 24th Jun 2016 12:13 pm 

    Well said Arthur! Nothing wrong with Apple. Makati Bill doesn’t like them becuase they are American based.

  11. makati1 on Fri, 24th Jun 2016 10:48 pm 

    Croation, Asians make Apple junk, not Americans. America makes nothing but trouble. Apple is losing market share all over the world. As ability to buy shrinks, Apple shrinks. And another “American” icon, Microsoft, is fast losing ground around the world thanks to their ‘backdoor’ to the NSA. They are having trouble giving away Windows 10. Couldn’t happen to nicer companies.

    Collapse now and avoid the rush!

  12. Croatian Holiday Maker on Sat, 25th Jun 2016 1:43 am 

    Yes Bill, that is all true what you say, but they still have more than $200B and since the iBusiness is receding they have to tap into something new. Renewable energy is a huge growth market and is green and hip and cool and soooo anti global warming. Just stamp an Apple logo on these panels, provide an app to monitor them from your iGadget and ask a high price so the snobs can distinguish themselves. iCan see it happening.

  13. makati1 on Sat, 25th Jun 2016 3:44 am 

    Croation, There is no “renewable” energy except muscle power as converted by sunlight on plants and eaten by animals. The term “renewable” for anything else is a lie. I don’t care if they have trillion$, it will never go anywhere.

  14. JuanP on Sat, 25th Jun 2016 5:09 am 

    Mak “Apple, as a company has passed it’s “sell by” date…” I agree Mak. If I had ever owned Apple stock I would have sold it by now. It can go nowhere but down from here. The same goes for Google.

  15. Davy on Sat, 25th Jun 2016 6:09 am 

    Apple is a great company with great products. The much of the hardware is made in Asia the innovations global and American.

  16. Croatian Holiday Maker on Sat, 25th Jun 2016 6:47 am 

    Bill,I gladly explain to you what renewable energy is, but that’s going to cost you. And since that money won’t be forthcoming:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_energy

  17. Croatian Holiday Maker on Sat, 25th Jun 2016 6:50 am 

    …and the machines to make almost 100% of the world’s computer chips are coming from my home town. Just saying 🙂

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASML_Holding

  18. JuanP on Sat, 25th Jun 2016 7:12 am 

    Davy, would you buy Apple stock today? I would sell it!

  19. makati1 on Sat, 25th Jun 2016 7:38 am 

    Croatian, arrogance is not a good thing.

    You can use any definition of “renewable energy” you want but ALL of the “renewables” you can name are dependent on oil to exist, except food plants and muscle. Not one makes enough NET energy to replace itself without oil. Therefore they are not “renewable” just another form of energy, not a source.

  20. Davy on Sat, 25th Jun 2016 7:42 am 

    I am not in the markets and have been out since 03. Juan, you and I have much in common and our current investing as doomers is one of them. Apple stock and Apple products are two different things. Apple will ebb and flow with innovation and marketing success but they are still a great company with great products. Will they stay near the top maybe, maybe not? Their stock is related to investors and the stock market game and less so their products.

  21. dooma on Sat, 25th Jun 2016 7:52 am 

    Yes Davy, of course Apple make the best phones. Is that why most i.t tech people use the Android operating system?

    iPhones are made so 15 year old girls can operate them easily.

    Christ, you are as predictable as the sunrise.

    Why don’t you go out and repaint your American flagpole?

    Oh, and “have a nice day”.

  22. Croatian Holiday Maker on Sat, 25th Jun 2016 8:17 am 

    Since when is ease of operation an argument against a device?

  23. Davy on Sat, 25th Jun 2016 9:06 am 

    Dooma, grow up, did you just put words in my mouth to make your morning anti-American statement Australian style. Where did I say they were the best phones? It is so easy to crush anti-American comments because they are almost always extreme. Extreme is biased and agenda driven. Why do you think Makati Bill does not engage me, because I crush him routinely. Dooma, my flag pole is for pissing on extremist like you.

  24. dooma on Sat, 25th Jun 2016 9:09 pm 

    CHM, when someone insinuates that you are knocking a product because of your inability to use it.

    “I have had a Iphone for years zero issues. I guess you just have to be an adult to use one”

  25. dooma on Sat, 25th Jun 2016 9:16 pm 

    Um, I think the statement “I have had a Iphone for years zero issues” was a rebuttal to my comment and a clear endorsement of the iPhone.

    That was clearly stating that they are good phones.

    And my comment wasn’t extreme. You always defend anything said by foreigners that is anti-American. Your use of the term “extremist” shows that you are well and truly brainwashed by your media.

  26. Davy on Sat, 25th Jun 2016 9:27 pm 

    Dooma, get a life. There are bigger issues than friggen phones to worry about.

  27. dooma on Sat, 25th Jun 2016 11:21 pm 

    Now that I agree with.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *