Apple Invests in Three Wind Farms in China as Part of Renewable Energy Efforts

[MacRumors]

Last year, Apple announced the launch of a $300 million Clean Energy Fund in China to connect suppliers with renewable energy sources.

Apple and 10 of its suppliers in China will invest nearly $300 million by 2022 to develop projects totaling one gigawatt of renewable energy. In a press release today, Apple said that includes three wind firms in Hunan and Hubei that will generate approximately one-tenth of that anticipated total.

Each farm is said to generate 48 megawatts of clean energy, supplying a combined 134 megawatts to China's national power grid.

Apple's environmental chief Lisa Jackson:

To see these projects completed and already supplying clean energy to the grid is really exciting. We are proud that suppliers participating in the fund share our commitment to supporting innovative energy solutions, cutting emissions and fighting climate change.

In its press release, Apple also reiterated that 44 of its suppliers in 16 countries have committed to using 100 percent clean energy to power their Apple-specific production. Apple and its suppliers remain on track to generate more than four gigawatts of clean energy worldwide by 2020, the company said.

The urgency to address climate change has never been greater. We're proud to run on 100% renewable energy and are working with our suppliers to do the same. Together, we'll bring more than 6 gigawatts of new renewable energy online next year. 🌏 https://t.co/ysRn5eLTSi - Tim Cook (@tim_cook) September 24, 2019

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Article Link: Apple Invests in Three Wind Farms in China as Part of Renewable Energy Efforts

 

[tanoanian]

Why the F is Apple not doing this in California?!?

 

[yaxomoxay]

Birds - especially bats - are not happy about this.

 

[AndyDiamond]

I’m just here waiting for the inevitable “climate change is a hoax”, Greta sideswipes and “Apple show stick to making a better X Y or Z” comments.

 

[ilikewhey]

i wished they invested 300m in the U.S.

 

[statik13]

It's awesome news. Wish more companies would do this.

 

[yaxomoxay]

It's awesome news. Wish more companies would do this.

Not wind farms, they are slaughtering birds to an unprecedented level.

 

[Sasparilla]

Nice to see. Keep it up Apple.

Not wind farms, they are slaughtering birds to an unprecedented level.

Um, no. As long as their sighting (where they are placed) is planned out properly to avoid migration paths their impact is limited. The fossil fuel industry is spreading this falsehood though as a push back, often through social media.

Wind turbines kill fewer birds than do cats, cell towers

Wind turbines kill far fewer birds than do cats or collisions with cell towers, study says.

www.usatoday.com

 

[sunapple]

Why the F is Apple not doing this in California?!?

They invest in clean energy in many places around the world, including California... https://gigaom.com/2015/02/10/apple-to-spend-850m-on-solar-energy-from-new-solar-farm-in-california/

 

[mattster16]

Doesn’t Apple know that wind farms are going to kill ALL the birds and that they also cause cancer!? /s

I’m surprised to see this isn’t in the politics section, since certain industries and a certain political party have politicized renewable energy so much in order to slow its progress.

 

[yaxomoxay]

Nice to see. Keep it up Apple.



Um, no. As long as their sighting (where they are placed) is planned out properly to avoid migration paths their impact is limited. The fossil fuel industry is spreading this falsehood though as a push back, often through social media.

Wind turbines kill fewer birds than do cats, cell towers

Wind turbines kill far fewer birds than do cats or collisions with cell towers, study says.

www.usatoday.com

Please, don't give me that cats thing which is utter BS. of course 300,000 static wind turbines kill less than 700,000,000 cats. Also, that's like saying that violent crime is not a problem because it kills less than car accidents (and for cats birds are mainly food).

And no, it's not the coal industry that I am looking at. I am looking at Smithsonian, Audubon Society, NatGeo and so on, that is environmental friendly sources. It's a carnage.

Will Wind Turbines Ever Be Safe For Birds?

Here are some of the solutions the industry is testing to reduce bird deaths.

www.audubon.org

How Many Birds Do Wind Turbines Really Kill?

The giant spinning turbines are basically bird death traps - and often they cut through prime flying space making the carnage even worse

www.smithsonianmag.com

BirdWatching

www.birdwatchingdaily.com

Wind turbines kill up to 39 million birds a year! | CFACT

Not only has the wind industry never solved its environmental problem, it has been hiding at least 90% of this slaughter for decades. In fact, the universal problem of hiding bird (and bat) mortality goes from bad to intolerable beyond the Altamont Pass boundaries, because studies in other areas...

www.cfact.org

 

[Rojaaemon]

I’m just here waiting for the inevitable “climate change is a hoax”, Greta sideswipes and “Apple show stick to making a better X Y or Z” comments.

I'm just happy the big ugly fans aren't in my back yard.

 

[iReality85]

Apple and 10 of its suppliers in China will invest nearly $300 million by 2022 to develop projects totaling one gigawatt of renewable energy. In a press release today, Apple said that includes three wind firms in Hunan and Hubei that will generate approximately one-tenth of that anticipated total.

Each farm is said to generate 48 megawatts of clean energy, supplying a combined 134 megawatts to China's national power grid.

Apple's environmental chief Lisa Jackson:In its press release, Apple also reiterated that 44 of its suppliers in 16 countries have committed to using 100 percent clean energy to power their Apple-specific production. Apple and its suppliers remain on track to generate more than four gigawatts of clean energy worldwide by 2020, the company said.

While 134 megawatts (MW) of power derived from wind sounds good, context is needed. China is set to add ~225 gigawatts (GW) derived from coal next year. That's on top of the massive ~1 terawatt of coal-derived power they already produce (and pollute) the environment with.

For comparison, the US produces a combined ~250 gigawatts of power from coal, with no set expansion.

Good for Apple, and good for China. But 134MW is a drop in the bucket.

Edit: Sources, for people who might ask:

Wikipedia

CoalExit.Org

 

[PlainviewX]

Please, don't give me that cats thing which is utter BS. of course 300,000 static wind turbines kill less than 700,000,000 cats. Also, that's like saying that violent crime is not a problem because it kills less than car accidents (and for cats birds are mainly food).

And no, it's not the coal industry that I am looking at. I am looking at Smithsonian, Audubon Society, NatGeo and so on, that is environmental friendly sources. It's a carnage.

Will Wind Turbines Ever Be Safe For Birds?

Here are some of the solutions the industry is testing to reduce bird deaths.

www.audubon.org

How Many Birds Do Wind Turbines Really Kill?

The giant spinning turbines are basically bird death traps - and often they cut through prime flying space making the carnage even worse

www.smithsonianmag.com

BirdWatching

www.birdwatchingdaily.com

Wind turbines kill up to 39 million birds a year! | CFACT

Not only has the wind industry never solved its environmental problem, it has been hiding at least 90% of this slaughter for decades. In fact, the universal problem of hiding bird (and bat) mortality goes from bad to intolerable beyond the Altamont Pass boundaries, because studies in other areas...

www.cfact.org

And how many birds does deforestation, oil spills, coal burning, and gas/oil fumes kill each year?

 

[yaxomoxay]

And how many birds does deforestation, oil spills, coal burning, and gas/oil fumes kill each year?

That's a different topic, and they are all problems that need to be resolved. Just don't sell utopia. Wind farms are a big problem for birds.

 

[mrgq]

Why the F is Apple not doing this in California?!?

I think we all know why...because wind turbines kill birds

 

[mattster16]

That's a different topic, and they are all problems that need to be resolved. Just don't sell utopia. Wind farms are a big problem for birds.

yes, but those things kill more birds than wind turbines that are displacing them as energy sources. So net benefit. Additionally, way way way more birds die from flying into windows and glass buildings. We need to stop using windows now too I guess.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...37fe80-8866-11e3-916e-e01534b1e132_story.html

 

[RickInHouston]

I remember a Sixty Minutes Story about a U.S. Wind Turbine company that had minimal growth. Then China came knocking and their growth was immense. They built large warehouses for their new needs. Then China stole the tech inside the turbines and left him high and dry.

I wonder who's technology is in those turbines.?.

 

[1146331]

Imagine if we could just reprocess our nuclear waste, thus eliminating or greatly reducing the nuclear waste issue, then use that to generate CLEAN NUCLEAR POWER!!!!

*Sigh*
[automerge]1569332458[/automerge]

I remember a Sixty Minutes Story about a U.S. Wind Turbine company that had minimal growth. Then China came knocking and their growth was immense. They built large warehouses for their new needs. Then China stole the tech inside the turbines and left him high and dry.

I wonder who's technology are in those turbines.?.

It's Chinese tech inside the turbines that they "rightfully" stole!!!

 

[Glockworkorange]

That's a different topic, and they are all problems that need to be resolved. Just don't sell utopia. Wind farms are a big problem for birds.

They are also a blight. There is a stretch of them between Chicago and Indianapolis and it's a stain on the countryside.

Just more boondoggles. If climate change is such an existential crisis, truly, then Apple should start investing in nuclear plants and petitioning the Indians and the Chinese to adjust their manufacturing measures. I mean, if we were in TRULY desperate times, like 12 years until fire and brimstone, we would do these things because survival depends on it. Right?

 

[1146331]

I think we all know why...because wind turbines kill birds

Well that and Apple doesn't care about America, as long as we keep buying their products.

 

[5105973]

Not wind farms, they are slaughtering birds to an unprecedented level.

They also have been documented to produce low frequency vibrations that are disturbing to the health and comfort of humans and wildlife who are located nearby.
Source 1

Source 2 This source shows that there are different studies that make it more of a gray area, with some research showing no health effects. Others indicate annoyance and resulting sleep disturbances and mental health effects could be a result. But there’s not solid data on mental health effects. However, a few years ago I read in other articles of people abandoning homes too near wind turbines.
~~~

I’m not saying we shouldn’t displace some highly polluting sources of power with wind turbines, but we need to be realistic about the fact that so far some of our popular new solutions also come with a cost and toll on the environment. We will need to find a way to mitigate these damages, too.

 

[yaxomoxay]

yes, but those things kill more birds than wind turbines that are displacing them as energy sources.

Honestly interested, do you have a reliable source for this statement? If not, it's not a problem.

So net benefit. Additionally, way way way more birds die from flying into windows and glass buildings. We need to stop using windows now too I guess.

Again, there are only ~300K turbines worldwide, and it's a slaughter. Bats are attracted to them, and my understanding is that eagles are also attracted to them. With just a few turbines (which don't produce that much energy) we are seeing this carnage. Can you imagine if we had 10x turbines? I do honestly think that it's a HUGE problem, of course feel free to disagree; I am sure that you will agree that awareness of this problem will help in making better decisions.

Let me also point out that I read somewhere that the number of birds killed by turbines can be much higher due to the fact that right now only those within the blade range are counted. In other words, the carcass has to be right under the turbine to count; if the bird falls 1 foot from it, it's not counted.

 

[1146331]

They are also a blight. There is a stretch of them between Chicago and Indianapolis and it's a stain on the countryside.

Just more boondoggles. If climate change is such an existential crisis, truly, then Apple should start investing in nuclear plants and petitioning the Indians and the Chinese to adjust their manufacturing measures. I mean, if we were in TRULY desperate times, like 12 years until fire and brimstone, we would do these things because survival depends on it. Right?

This.

People thinking they're saving the environment driving electric vehicles, meanwhile adding 4800KW a day to coal-fired emissions are just plain stupid.

Climate change is really about government control, otherwise they would understand that at this moment we could do away with coal plants in entirety and use pure nuclear energy (put the plants in safe places away from earthquake zones and tsunami zones). This would drastically reduce emissions, probably make electricity cheaper in the long run, and encourage more electric vehicle adoption.

 

[Marzzz]

Why the F is Apple not doing this in California?!?

There is a pretty huge wind farm that can be seen along I-8 near Palm Springs. Just take a look at how they dominate the landscape...and how many of them are not moving, despite a decent amount of wind.