MaidenNorthCarolina
Latest
Apple's data centers now powered by 100% renewable energy
Apple released the 2012 update of its environmental policy pages and notes that the company is now using 100 percent renewable energy sources -- solar, wind, hydro and geothermal -- at its data centers. The 100 percent renewable energy figure was also achieved at facilities in Austin, Texas; Elk Grove, Calif.; Cork, Ireland and Munich, Germany, as well as at the Infinite Loop campus in Cupertino, Calif. For all of Apple's corporate facilities worldwide, the figure is at 75 percent, and the company says that they "won't stop working until we achieve 100 percent throughout Apple." The company made a commitment to using 100 percent renewable energy at its data centers in 2012 after being criticized by Greenpeace over its energy usage. As the Apple video below demonstrates, the scope of the photovoltaic arrays used at the Maiden, N.C., data center is breathtaking. [via Bloomberg]
Apple plans to double capacity of NC fuel cells
The first phase of Apple's fuel cell project at the Maiden, NC data center began testing in October of 2012, and the company is already looking at doubling the capacity of the plant. The plant is fueled by filtered landfill gas (AKA "directed biogas"), a fuel that is considered a renewable energy resource by North Carolina's green energy regulations. Apple filed paperwork in November with the North Carolina Utilities Commission to bring the plant from 4.8 megawatts of power to a total of 10 megawatts. Any excess energy generated by the fuel cells and the huge (covering 250 acres eventually) solar farm on the site will be sold to Duke Energy. Apple is planning on using similar green power initiatives at all three of its newest data centers.
New construction at Apple's North Carolina data center poses for aerial photographs
Photos courtesy of Wired reveal that Apple's new "tactical" data center at its Maiden, North Carolina facility is well on its way to completion. Captured with the help of a decidedly low-tech airplane -- a 1949 Piper PA-11 Cub Special, if you must know -- the shots feature what appear to be the facade of the $1.9 million, 21,000 square-foot structure that was outed last month. The images also show glimpses of a second 20-megawatt photovoltaic array and what may be the foundations of the complex's planned 4.8-megawatt biofuel cell plant, which will convert biogas into electricity. With Apple's upcoming Reno project getting the rubber stamp of approval, it doesn't seem like the company will run out of construction projects any time soon. Click on through to the source link for the full set of pictures and analysis.
