Apple reveals 50MW solar plant in Arizona

September 21, 2016
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
The Cupertino, California-based tech conglomerate has kept quiet about the project until now. Source: Flickr/Marco Paköeningrat

Apple has unveiled a new 50MW solar plant in Florence, Arizona, in collaboration with local utility Salt River project.

The 121-hectare plant will generate 151 million kWh of power per year, according to Apple, and will provide enough clean energy to power more than 12,000 typical homes.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

The news as revealed by the utility yesterday, comes on the heels of a wider announcement the company made about working towards 100% renewable energy across all its operations worldwide.This summer the company originated a company specifcally to sell excess solar power, known as Apple Energy LLC. Apple continues its foray into solar and other renewables as it announced last year that its command centre project in Mesa would run the facility solely with solar power. 

All has finally been revealed in the form of the 50MW Bonnybrooke solar plant that is located in Pinal County, east of its data command centre in Mesa. The power produced from the plant will not be fed directly to the data facility; instead, the amount of power is intended to compensate for the power consumed there. This is in line with the iPhone developer’s goals to create multiple clean energy facilities to compensate for its manufacturing plants across the globe that use power from the grid.

The electricity generated from the plant will be purchased by SRP in a 25-year PPA at an undisclosed price.

16 June 2026
Napa, USA
PV Tech has been running PV ModuleTech Conferences since 2017. PV ModuleTech USA, on 16-17 June 2026, will be our fifth PV ModulelTech conference dedicated to the U.S. utility scale solar sector. The event will gather the key stakeholders from solar developers, solar asset owners and investors, PV manufacturing, policy-making and and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out the PV module supply channels to the U.S. out to 2027 and beyond.

Read Next

December 10, 2025
The US SEIA has named board chair Darren Van’t Hof as interim president and CEO, to begin work 20 January 2026.
December 10, 2025
The global utility-scale solar PV sector has exceeded the threshold of 1TW of operating capacity, according to Wiki-Solar.
December 10, 2025
The US solar industry registered its third-best quarter with 11.7GW of new capacity installed in the third quarter of 2025.
Premium
December 9, 2025
Rooftop solar PV generated nearly twice the output of utility-scale solar throughout November 2025, maintaining a 1.9:1 ratio in Australia.
December 9, 2025
Indian solar PV manufacturer Waaree Energies has signed a 288MWp solar module supply deal with US project developer Sabanci Renewables.
December 8, 2025
Norwegian renewable energy firm Scatec has signed equity deals for a massive solar-plus-storage project in Egypt and begun operations at a site in South Africa.

Upcoming Events

Upcoming Webinars
December 17, 2025
2pm GMT / 3pm CET
Solar Media Events
February 3, 2026
London, UK
Solar Media Events
March 24, 2026
Dallas, Texas
Solar Media Events
April 15, 2026
Milan, Italy
Solar Media Events
June 16, 2026
Napa, USA