SAN FRANCISCO, April 14 (Xinhua) -- Apple on Thursday announced that its suppliers more than doubled their use of clean power over the last year, with over 10 gigawatts operational currently, out of nearly 16 gigawatts in total commitments in the coming years.

       In 2021, these renewable projects avoided 13.9 million metric tons of carbon emissions. The projects online Thursday will support greenhouse gas reductions equivalent to removing 3 million cars from the road for one year, the company said in an announcement.

       As of Thursday, 213 of the company's major manufacturing partners have pledged to power all Apple production with renewable electricity across 25 countries and regions.

       A total of 55 manufacturing partners in China committed to using only clean power with a nearly 75 percent increase from 2021, according to Apple.

       The dozens of new commitments announced Thursday will accelerate progress toward Apple's 2030 goal to become carbon neutral across its entire supply chain. Apple has been carbon neutral for its global operations since 2020, the company said.

       "We are proud that so many of our manufacturing partners have joined our urgent work to address the climate crisis by generating more renewable energy around the world," said Lisa Jackson, Apple's vice president of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives.