Roger Fingas
On Thursday, the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission granted Apple Energy LLC — a recently-created Apple subsidiary — the right to sell energy generated from its solar facilities into wholesale markets.
The Commission decided that Apple Energy doesn't pose a risk of hiked energy prices, Bloomberg reported. Sales can officially begin on Saturday.
Filings for Apple Energy list several assets, including a 130-megawatt solar farm near San Francisco, a 50-megawatt facility in Arizona, and another 19.9 megawatts in Nevada.
Rather than selling to the public, Apple is believed to be using Apple Energy simply to sell excess power to public utilities, helping to offset the cost of running its infrastructure. When and where possible, Apple uses solar as a primary source of "green" power for offices and datacenters.
The subsidiary was quietly established in May, fueling speculation in some quarters that Apple intended to become a true energy provider selling to consumers. That, however, would've required a major investment to connect to homes and businesses.
Charles Martin
Christine McKee
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Malcolm Owen
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22 Comments
Energy is coming soon to a home near you.
Trust me.
Realistically, this is the best way to do it. Whether Apple will build-out more than they need for their own, on average, will be interesting to see. But, for now, it seems as though they just want some way to pay for excess output. That excess could disappear if Apple expands the data farms they are using them for. In which case these sales would be temporary.
The phrase, "Power to the people," comes to mind!
Get ready Samsung Energy coming soon to a city near you.
Can someone please explain this
The Commission decided that Apple Energy doesn't pose a risk of hiked energy prices
Why on earth would another supplier coming into the market cause a rise in prices?
Would not it actually depress prices?
Or is this some entrenched coal burner complaining?