The Power Struggle in the AI Era: Why Apple Secured 650MW in Europe - Further Expansion in China

Lead: The "Next Move" of 650MW is within reach of user charging

Apple has added a total of 650MW of renewable energy in Europe. The breakdown includes a mix of solar and wind, with 110MW in Greece, 110MW in Latvia, 131MW in Spain, 40MW in Poland, 99MW in Romania, and a 129MW solar and wind composite portfolio in Italy. This power source is intended to strengthen the framework for "matching" the electricity consumed when users use products (Scope 3 "product use") with clean power, in addition to powering data centers and operations. Apple has declared its policy to "match the electricity used by customers worldwide with 100% clean power" by 2030, and the 650MW in Europe is a concrete step towards that goal. TechCrunch

Background: Why target "product use"?

In the company's emission structure, "product use" when users charge and use devices on national power grids accounts for a significant portion. TechCrunch, which reported on this move, also notes that this category accounts for about one-third of Apple's overall carbon footprint. Apple is advancing a strategy to develop and procure new wind and solar energy worldwide to "cleanly replace" the energy consumption of customers. According to Apple's official documents, emissions from product use fall under the GHG Protocol's Scope 3 Category 11, and there are plans to launch an estimated 5GW of new renewable energy globally by 2030. TechCrunch

The Art of Distributed Procurement in Europe: Optimal Locations Despite Low Solar Radiation

Contrary to the preconception that "Europe has weak solar radiation," Southern and Eastern Europe have high generation potential. The countries Apple has chosen this time emerge as "optimal locations" when considering non-price factors such as grid connection, system congestion, speed of permits, and local developer pipelines. TechCrunch emphasizes the speed with which solar projects in Europe can be constructed, approximately 18 months, and the flexibility of phased transmission (staged COD). In the midst of intensified competition for securing power due to AI compatibility, this "quick ramp-up" is crucial for major tech companies. TechCrunch

China: Supplier-Led 1 Billion Yuan Clean Energy Fund

Simultaneously, a new capital scheme has begun in China. A supplier-led clean energy fund of 1 billion yuan (approximately $150 million) plans to add 1 million MWh of clean power to China's grid by 2030. Apple's release for China states that over 90% of manufacturing in the country is already powered by renewable energy. This is achieved through a combination of on-site self-generation, PPAs (Power Purchase Agreements), and green certificates, enhancing the decarbonization of the entire supply chain. Apple (中国大陆) - 官方网站

The Roadmap to the Big Goal of 2030

In 2020, Apple announced its policy to "achieve carbon neutrality for its supply chain and products by 2030," and since then, it has been expanding its commitment to 100% renewable energy for suppliers year by year. The latest update in April 2025 states that renewable energy in operation within the supply chain has reached 17.8GW, with a CO2e avoidance effect of 22.18 million tons in 2024 alone. The 650MW addition in Europe and the start of the China fund represent a "double-ended" approach that simultaneously tightens both ends of the supply chain (Scope 3 upstream) and product use (Scope 3 downstream). Apple

The Footsteps of Competitors: Big Tech's GW-Scale Moves

Apple is not the only main player in renewable energy PPAs. Meta has added over 2GW, mainly solar, since entering 2025, and Microsoft has added 1.5GW in contracts. The exponential growth in power demand in the AI era has led companies to diversify risks with a combination of "cheap, fast, and distributed" renewable energy and storage. While the 650MW may not match the "lightning-fast procurement" of GW-scale in absolute terms, it differentiates itself by focusing on geographical distribution and application (matching during product use). TechCrunch

The "Quietness" of Information Dissemination: Not Posted on the US Headquarters Site?

This announcement was posted on Apple's newsrooms in various European countries, but it did not appear in the main feed of the US press site, TechCrunch points out. In the past, regional renewable energy projects have appeared in the main feed, but this may be a consideration to avoid friction with the political climate and attitudes towards renewable energy in the US, the article suggests. By taking a "regional strategy" in corporate communications, it is a reading that practical work is advanced while reducing policy and public opinion risks. TechCrunch

Reactions on Social Media: Praise, Doubts, and Realism

Immediately after the announcement, TechCrunch's X post spread, and a welcoming mood spread among cleantech accounts and general users, with sentiments like "When a major company moves forward, others will follow." On the other hand, there were realistic and skeptical views such as "650MW is small compared to AI and data center demand" and "How will 'customer charging' be verified?" In the energy-related Reddit community, comments pointed out the flexibility of the grid and the lack of storage, and the necessity of investment in storage and transmission to meet 24/7 with renewable energy alone was discussed anew. Overall, the message was positive but emphasized "the next step is storage and flexibility on the demand side." Twitter

What It Brings to Users

Individual users' electricity bills will not immediately decrease. However, Apple's continued addition of new renewable energy to the market will have the long-term effect of cleaning up the regional power mix and systematically reducing emissions during product use. Apple has documented the new concept of "matching product use electricity" at the institutional design level, with an eye on the evolution of next-generation carbon accounting, including RECs, time-matched credits, and region-matched policies. In an era where companies "build as much as they use" (Bring-Your-Own-Power), initiatives that delve into customer-side emissions are likely to spread to other industries. Apple

What Are the Bottlenecks: Permits, Grid, and Storage

In Europe, the lead time for permits for renewable energy projects and the lack of grid connection capacity are chronic issues. As TechCrunch points out, solar can be up and running in about 18 months from groundbreaking, but delays are common due to grid congestion and material supply shortages. Large-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS) are key to absorbing this, and the continued price decline in storage is crucial for achieving 24/7 operations. This is why Apple, Meta, and Microsoft are all steering towards packaging "renewable energy + storage." TechCrunch

Conclusion: Produce Locally, Reduce Globally

650MW may seem modest to those accustomed to GW-scale headlines. However, the characteristics of this initiative are threefold: ① distributed optimization across countries, ② a new trend of power matching during product use, and ③ a "local production for local consumption" type of fund circulation through the supply chain fund. Towards 2030, Apple is compressing emissions from both ends of the supply chain and customer use with a design philosophy of "global goals × local implementation." Even amidst the intensifying "power source scramble" with competitors, this quiet acceleration of accumulating meaningful MWs in each region will have a long-term impact. Apple