Apple Building Solar Farm at North Carolina Data Center
The Charlotte Observer reports that Apple has begun work on a solar farm adjacent to its massive new data center in Maiden, North Carolina. The new solar farm will likely generate a significant amount of power for the facility, although Catawba County officials have yet to see building plans for the facilities.
Apple has quietly begun work on a solar farm that apparently could help power its sprawling data center in southern Catawba County.
Permits issued by Catawba County show that the Cupertino, Calif., company has been approved to reshape the slope of some of the 171 acres of vacant land it owns on Startown Road, opposite the data center, in preparation of building a solar farm.
Permits issued so far only address grading and erosion control on the site, but Apple has disclosed in those permit applications that it intends to build a solar farm on the site.
The Hickory Daily Record adds some detail to the situation, noting the plot of land is indeed across the street from the data center and that nearby residents have been upset by the smoke from fires set to help clear the land.
That smoke is Apple clearing more than 100 acres of land across from its data center, which opened earlier this year at 5977 Startown Road. It was reported earlier this year that the data facility will be a cloud-computing center for Apple.
Across the street, at 6028 Startown Road, Apple has filed a soil erosion permit with Catawba County for about 170 acres of land. Apple applied for the permit on Aug. 9, and the county reviewed and approved it on Aug. 10.
In the application, Apple described the work as “Solar panel farm A” for the 170.99 acres of land.
Apple's initial 70-acre purchase at solar farm site of 6028 Startown Road in Maiden, NCThe
erosion control permit (PDF) indicates that Apple has pieced together three separate parcels of land for the solar farm, with the most recent addition coming just last week. An initial
70-acre parcel at the project address was identified as having been bought by Apple last October, but it is unclear what constitutes the remaining 100 acres of the project site.
Popular Stories
There's just about a month to go until Apple holds its annual September event focusing on new iPhone and Apple Watch models. We thought we'd take a quick look at everything that's rumored for Apple's September event to give MacRumors readers a rundown on what to expect when the first fall event rolls around.
iPhone 14
The iPhone 14 can probably be described more as an "iPhone 13S" because...
Samsung this week launched its fourth-generation foldable devices, the $1,000 Galaxy Z Flip and the $1,800 Galaxy Z Fold. Though there's no sign of a comparable Apple foldable device on the horizon, rumors suggest prototypes are in the works, so we thought we'd take a look at Samsung's newest smartphones to see what Apple needs to measure up to when a foldable iPhone does come out.
Subscribe ...
It wouldn't be the month before an iPhone launch without a few back-and-forth rumors, with the latest debate concerning iPhone 14 Pro storage.
iPhone 14 Pro render by Ian Zelbo While research firm TrendForce forecasted that iPhone 14 Pro models could start with an increased 256GB of storage, Haitong International analyst Jeff Pu today forecasted that the upcoming Pro models will continue to...
Wednesday August 10, 2022 4:08 am PDT by
Sami FathiThe launch of the new iPhone 14 is just a few weeks away, meaning millions of iPhone customers will soon upgrade their existing iPhone or perhaps get an iPhone for the first time. Exclusive MacRumors iPhone 14 Pro renders by graphic designer Ian Zelbo Whether upgrading from an older model or this is your first iPhone, we've rounded up a few tips to help you prepare for the next flagship...
Apple plans to increase the prices of iPhone 14 Pro models compared to iPhone 13 Pro models, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
Kuo did not reveal exact pricing for the iPhone 14 Pro models. However, in a tweet today, he estimated that the average selling price of the iPhone 14 lineup as a whole will increase by about 15% compared to the iPhone 13 lineup.
In the United States, the iPhone...
This week brought some shocking news for iOS 16 beta testers, with Apple bringing back the iPhone battery percentage to the status bar after a number of years.
Other news and rumors this week included word that Apple has started recording portions of its media event planned for next month to introduce the iPhone 14 and Apple Watch Series 8, claims about iPhone 14 Pro pricing and Apple's...
Top Rated Comments
Yes, harnessing free power from the sun is such a waste of time.
Are you complaining that they could be using just regular bricks for those too because it would save them all that money they could have just sitting around doing nothing?
I would rather see the land being used as a cutting-edge solar farm than another Walmart or landfill. Especially when it's another project that is defining NC as a technology hub and a place that looks to the future instead of being stuck in the past and hoping things might go back to the industries of old.
why don't they put solar panels and wind mills on top of the data center itself, aswell?
Apple hasn't reinvented solar power, but plenty of other companies have.
Both photovoltaic and solar-thermal power-plant scale farms are already viable, and with the projected increasing costs of energy, they're looking like a better bet every day.
Aside from the large up-front costs, (which a company like Apple has no problem covering), there really aren't any drawbacks.