Apple has announced it will see a 240 MWh battery energy storage project developed alongside the operational 280 MW California Flats project which has a 130 MW PPA with Apple. The energy storage will allow Apple’s facilities in California to be powered more consistently by renewable energy. Data centers make up an estimated 1-2% of global electricity demand but have played an outsize role in driving investment in renewables via PPAs. Neoen’s 350 MW / 200 MWh Culcairn Solar Farm has been approved in New South Wales, Australia. The $482 million project, located in the Riverina agricultural region, had faced stiff objections from locals on grounds including the heat-island effect and the obstructive security fencing, both of which will make…