The iPad-maker will build two solar array installations in and around Maiden, North Carolina, near its core data center. It said it wil buy all the equipment it needs for them from SunPower Corp and startup Bloom Energy.
The solar arrays will cover 250 acres and will supply supply 84 million kWh of energy annually to the power-hungry data center.
Later on in the year, Apple said it will build a bio-gas fuel-cell plant too. "I'm not aware of any other company producing energy onsite at this scale," Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer told Reuters.
"The plan we are releasing today includes two solar farms and together they will be twice as big as we previously announced, thanks to the purchase of some land very near to the data center in Maiden, which will help us meet this goal."
Energy concerns have been raised as Internet firms continue to build large data centers that eat power. The new facilities are necessary to meet the demands of cloud computing.
Written by: James Delahunty @ 19 May 2012 20:36
