Apple buys Queensland wind farm to carbon offset use of iPhones
Apple’s new Australian green plan is shaking up what happens when you charge up your iPhone, iPad or Mac.
Gadgets
Don't miss out on the headlines from Gadgets. Followed categories will be added to My News.
EVERY time you charge your iPhone in 2026, Apple will match the electricity you use with locally generated wind power.
The tech giant unveiled plans to invest heavily in a Queensland wind farm on Thursday as part of its 40th anniversary celebrations in Australia and to meet ambitious environmental targets.
The company, whose operations are already carbon neutral, has pledged to offset the use of all of its products by 2030, so “every Apple device sold will have net zero climate impact”.
Apple environment, policy and social initiatives vice-president Lisa Jackson, in Sydney for the announcement, said its newest investment would bring the company closer to that goal.
“This is actually only the second project we’ve done where the clean energy that’s going to be generated really goes to help green up our customers’ use of devices,” she said.
“By 2030, our goal is no matter where you are in the world, if you’re charging you’re not adding carbon emissions — you’re climate neutral just as Apple is.”
Apple currently generates more than 20 million metric tonnes of carbon emissions each year — 22 per cent of which are due to customers charging their devices.
Apple’s investment in Upper Burdekin Wind Farm, run by Windlab, will see electricity generated on pastoral land 65km outside of Ingham in Queensland, in an area close to the electricity network.
The wind farm isn’t expected to be operational until 2026, with Apple’s investment covering enough electricity to power the equivalent of 80,000 homes, or 500 gigawatt hours per year.
The US tech giant has also announced an investment in a wind farm in Texas, more than 2300 acres, in a project due to begin operations in late 2022.
Ms Jackson said she hoped the clean energy projects helped show governments around the world what could be done as they took action to reform electricity grids.
“The hope is that Apple’s doing this to prime the pumps and help with the transition here in Australia, but there will be many more wind farms and solar farms that get built by developers as governments make their own pledges to cut carbon emissions,” she said.
Apple chief executive Tim Cook said the company’s latest investment in Australia was designed to celebrate its 40th anniversary of local operations.
“We’re proud to celebrate Apple’s long history in Australia, and to deepen our shared commitment to protecting the planet and creating opportunity in people’s lives,” he said.
As part of its anniversary, Apple also announced plans to partner with RMIT in Melbourne and the University of Technology in Sydney to deliver coding programs, and to invest in Indigenous projects including Deadly Connections and First Australians Capital.
The company’s latest green project is one of several environmentally friendly moves by tech firms in recent months
Smartphone maker Samsung revealed 90 per cent of its new Galaxy Buds Pro2 earbuds, and some elements of its new folding smartphones, were made from recycled plastic including recovered fishing nets, while all Google products launched since 2020 contained recycled material and all packaging material from its products will be plastic-free by 2025.
Originally published as Apple buys Queensland wind farm to carbon offset use of iPhones
Chilling iPad warning after huge blaze
The family has had their home destroyed and a pet has been killed after they left an iPad charging while no one was home.
PM’s social media ban like ‘whack-a-mole’
As the PM shores up plans for a social media ban for Aussie teenagers, Facebook’s head of global affairs has called the proposal a ‘whack-a-mole nightmare’ for parents.