Apple has established a new subsidiary, designed to resell surplus energy generated by the company’s solar farms back to local energy firms. “Apple Energy, LLC” was incorporated in Delaware on May 20. The firm will be run from Apple’s Cupertino headquarters.
According to the LLC filing, first discovered by 9to5Mac, the company’s assets include Nevada and California-based power facilities, which include the solar panels and solar cells expected to power Apple’s new “Spaceship” Campus 2 facility, set to open in early 2017 in Cupertino, Calif.
Apple has informed the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that it should meet criteria to sell power at market rates instead of wholesale, since it doesn’t have any large influence in the energy industry, and can’t impact energy prices. If approved, Apple could start reselling its surplus power output within 60 days of the June 6 filing date.
Apple isn’t expected to begin selling power directly to consumers, due to the complexity of the required infrastructure, it will likely instead continue to simply sell its excess production back to local energy suppliers. We’ll keep our eye out for any future developments.
