Apple to Open First Store Powered Entirely by Solar Energy

Apple has confirmed that it will soon be opening the doors of its first retail store in Southeast Asia. The upcoming store, which will be located in Singapore, will also be the first company on the island to be powered 100-percent by solar energy.

Although a confirmed date and location have yet to be released, many speculate that the store will be located at Knightsbridge, an upscale retail property located on Orchard Road, a popular shopping destination. In order to power the retail store, and the accompanying corporate campus, Apple has partnered with Sunseap Group, Singapore’s largest provider of clean energy.

In a statement released to CNET, Apple’s vice president of environment, policy, and social initiatives Lisa Jackson stated, “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.”

Energy to power the campus and store will be provided by Sunseap’s solar panels, which will be laid on the rooftops of 800 buildings in Singapore. The panels will, according to Reuters, “be placed on both public-owned buildings and Apple’s own facilities,” and will produce enough energy to power the equivalent of 9,000 homes. Apple will reportedly use roughly 60% of the energy from the panels to power the store and the campus, with the remainder being used to provide electricity for public-owned housing.

Apple began quietly hiring for the retail store last week, posting job openings for 14 positions for the store, including business manager and Apple Store leader. Just this morning, Apple’s Senior Vice President for Retail and Online Stores Angela Ahrendts released a statement to TechCrunch, confirming that the Apple Store is on its way. “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.”

Apple’s plans for a 100-percent solar powered store and campus are part of the company’s ongoing efforts to reduce its carbon footprint. Just last month, the company announced two clean energy initiatives, as well as a project to power the new Apple campus in California by solar energy.

Apple has not released an official date for completion of the Singapore Apple Store, but it will reportedly open its doors in the first quarter of 2016.