Apple eyes US$300m Chinese clean energy fund

It wants to invest in renewable energy projects for over 1 million homes.

Tech giant Apple is planning to pour US$300m into clean energy projects in China.

The iPhone-maker said it will partner with 10 of its global suppliers for the clean energy fund for Chinese households. The fund aims to generate renewable energy for nearly one million homes. The new fund is separate from Apple's previous investments in solar and wind energy in China.

Amongst the suppliers Apple is partnering with include Taiwan's Pegatron and Wistron. Deutsche Bank (DB), meanwhile, will not only invest but also be in charge of managing the clean energy fund.

Just last April, Apple said all of its retail stores, data centres, and offices are already running on 100% clean energy. It also said more than 20 of its suppliers have made pledges to use clean energy in their operations.

Apple sources many of its electronics parts and gadgets from China. Around 20% of Apple's sales come from the world's second biggest economy.

Greenpeace earlier warned that electronics manufacturing will have dire environmental consequences in China, citing the pollution caused by the country's coal power plants. But the Chinese government has been cracking down on polluters despite the expected negative impact it will have on the country's economic growth.