Apple prepares to open new clean energy data center in Nevada

[RaduTyrsina]

Even if at the beginning Apple had to be pushed by environmental organization to go green, it seems that the company has acquired a taste for it. According to a report coming from Gigaom, the Cupertino company is preparing to open another eco-friendly data center, located this time in Reno, Nevada.

The facility will get its energy from a massive solar panel farm which will be located in its vicinity. This new center represents Apple’s largest effort so far in the renewable energy sector. In order to make this project come to life, the tech giant has partnered up with local NV Energy and aims to produce up to 20 megawatts of power. NV Energy will fully be a​​cquired in the near future by MidAmerican Energy Holdings. The solar farm that will power the data center is going to be built by SunPower.

Apple publically stated that the Nevada plant represents its latest effort of bringing every facility it owns into the eco millennium. For this purpose they are investing a lot in the project, but the actual sum was not disclosed to the public. However, we can safely assume that the costs are similar to the ones invested in the North Carolina plant – around $1 billion.

“All of Apple’s data centers use 100 percent renewable energy, and we are on track to meet that goal in our new Reno data center using the latest in high-efficiency concentrating solar panels,†the company officially stated.

The arrival of Apple to Nevada will create some jobs in the area. The facility is set to be completed in eight months.

Source: GigaOm