Apple has hundreds of brick and mortar stores in various countries and now the iPhone maker will also open a store in Singapore. The new store will be the first Apple store to run entirely on solar power.
The demand for iDevices such as iPhones and iPads has been growing in various parts of the world but not all countries have Apple stores. The company had announced that it will open a store in Singapore, the first Apple store in Southeast Asia.
"We have more than 900 incredible employees working in our Singapore contact center and are thrilled to begin hiring the team that will open our first Apple Store in Singapore - an incredible international city and shopping destination," says Angela Ahrendts, senior vice president for Retail and Online Stores in Apple. "We can't wait to deliver the service, education and entertainment that is loved by Apple customers around the world."
Singaporeans will be pleased that an Apple store will soon open in the country. However, the upcoming Apple store will be special, which will also make climatologists happy.
Apple wants to reduce its dependency on fossil fuels and the Singapore store will be the company's first that will run entirely on solar energy.
"We're thrilled to be working with Sunseap and the government of Singapore to pioneer new ways to bring solar energy to the country and bring Apple even closer to our goal of powering our facilities around the world with 100 percent renewable energy," says Lisa Jackson, VP of environment, policy and social initiatives in Apple.
Apple has entered into a deal with the largest clean energy provider in Singapore - Sunseap Group - for powering its corporate office and retail store in the country.
The solar energy for powering the Apple store and office will come from solar panels installed on the roofs of 800 buildings in Singapore. The solar panels used by Sunseap Group have a capacity of 50 megawatts of energy, which is enough to light up 9,000 homes in Singapore. However, Apple will be using 33 megawatts of energy.
Apple notes on its corporate website that the company is not just using solar energy to reduce carbon emissions. Apple is also tapping geothermal energy sources, wind energy and micro‑hydro energy to power some of its offices and stores. Apple is also designing new buildings and updating its existing buildings to reduce electricity consumption.
