Of all the things other companies might copy from Apple, we wish it would be this: Apple has announced that they've achieved their 100% renewable energy target for all of their data centers, as well as their campuses in Austin (Texas), Elk Grove (California), Cork (Ireland), Munich (Germany), and their homebase in Cupertino.
A combination of geothermal, wind, and solar—like their 100-acre solar farm next to their Maiden, North Carolina data center, pictured below—provide all the juice these facilities need, obviating the need for coal. Their latest data center, currently under construction in Oregon, will reportedly add hydropower to the list.
What's staggering is how quickly the company was able to ramp up their alternative energy sources. In 2010 just 35% of Apple's worldwide energy usage came from renewable sources; now they're at 75%, if you add up all of their corporate facilities around the world. "We expect that number to grow as the amount of renewable energy available to us increases," the company writes. "We won't stop working until we achieve 100 percent throughout Apple."
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