Sorry, “Ben”, I actually am well informed about this subject. Anybody can be enthusiastic about “renewable energy” as long as they don’t ask me to pay for it but cover their own costs (as Apple does). I think Apple’s emphasis on generating, using “renewables”, the equivalent of 100% of their own energy use is silly, personally. And it’s certainly a waste of THEIR money.
People miss the point of Apple (and many others) investing in solar: independence.
They’re not beholden to the foibles, failings and fascinations of other companies. Blackouts? Competing customers? Bad choices? Not Apple’s (our whoever’s) problem.
Other nations have other methods. Germany and Spain have used feed in tariffs.
Anyway, would like to see Apple bring some manufacturing back to USA. If they do, it will be direct result of Trump's initiative to reduce regulations, red tape and onerous taxes that forced companies to take manufacturing outside the country in the first place.
Sorry to disagree with you here, Atreides, but in each instance where Apple has gone 100% independent of the grid, it has saved millions of dollars each year in energy costs they would have expended in utility expenses. In addition, Apple has actually now, in their services area, a line item for sales of energy INTO the grid when they don't use all of the energy their systems generate. The energy independence has become a net profit generator (excuse the pun) albeit a small one in comparison to the huge profit generators of their hardware.
I do, also, believe that Apple has taken advantage of the tax credits for solar and alternative fuels in installing these generation facilities. They would be foolish—and in violation of their financial obligations to their investors—not too. Some Liberals would assert that using such tax credits is requiring other tax payers to "foot the bill" in that Apple is somehow (read immorally) not sending in as many tax dollars to the IRS as they would have were they taking advantage of these tax credits (read dishonest tax loopholes when a rich corporation uses them). I take the other view, the money we send to the government is OURS that we are voluntarily contributing to the general weal, not the government's that the government is claiming back from us. Taxes are never a government cost and cannot be counted as an expense that other taxpayers "foot the bill for" when anyone takes advantage of the laws Congress has written to lower their taxes.