Apple recently purchased another 200 acres of land in North Carolina in order to build another solar farm to help power its massive iCloud data center. According to the Hickory Daily Record, the $3 million land deal was detailed recently and revealed that Apple will buy nearly 220 total acres in North Carolina’s Catawba County. The property is just a few miles away from Apple’s data center and is expected to house a solar farm that will produce 42 million kWh of electricity.
The new facility will be located adjacent to a new North Carolina Data Campus that will add infrastructure to the area in an attempt to attract other companies looking to build data centers. Apple’s plans for its second solar farm are coming together as the company is nearing completion on the first facility. As of right now the 100-acre solar farm is set to go online later this year and will be the largest of its kind in the country.
The solar facilities combined will supply 84 million kilowatt-hours of clean, renewable energy annually. The solar array is said to allow the data center to use 100% renewable energy by the end of this year. The solar plants will also be supported by a 5-megawatt fuel cell installation that is said to open later this year. Apple mentioned it will be the largest non-utility fuel cell installation operating anywhere in the country, as it will be powered by 100% biogas.
Hopefully this means that Apple’s services will run smoother as there have been many reported issues over the past few weeks.
Source: Hickory Daily Record
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