Apple's Beats brand in April unveiled the Powerbeats Pro, a redesigned wire-free version of its popular fitness-oriented Powerbeats earbuds.
Apple's NC Solar Farm to Utilize High-Efficiency SunPower Panels, Online as Soon as October
The San Jose Mercury News reports that a regulatory filing has revealed that Apple's massive solar farm at its new data center in Maiden, North Carolina will utilize panels from San Jose-based energy company SunPower. The ground-mounted panels will track with the sun throughout the day and be installed in phases with the first batch set to come on line as soon as October of this year.
Apple recently touted its plans for the solar farm and a complementary fuel cell installation as part of its commitment to alternative energy at the new data center. The 20-megawatt solar farm is said to be the largest such user-owned facility in the United States.
[A]n 18-page filing with the North Carolina Utilities Commission makes it clear that SunPower has been chosen to provide the solar panels for the massive solar farm.The E20 panels from SunPower are being promoted as the world's first solar panels to reach 20% efficiency, incorporating the latest solar cell, inverter and light capturing technologies to boost performance.
"Each of the photovoltaic installations will consist of multiple SunPower E20 435-watt photovoltaic modules on ground-mounted single axis tracking systems," the filing states.
The solar farm will be built in phases and could begin delivering electricity to the grid as early as October.
Apple recently touted its plans for the solar farm and a complementary fuel cell installation as part of its commitment to alternative energy at the new data center. The 20-megawatt solar farm is said to be the largest such user-owned facility in the United States.
[ 57 comments ]
Top Rated Comments
(View all)
98 months ago
Holy s***! 20% is amazing! The best solar panels a few years ago could just manage around 12%. I never knew the technology was moving forward this fast. :eek:
98 months ago
Creating Bio Gas is not a difficult or unproven technology and the Grass grows using Solar Power or also called Sunshine, you might have noticed and the neat thing that Cows even **** in the Dark, and the Bio Gas is available even if the Sun dose not shine, which is around 60% of the time (24hours) which the Datacenter will be running.
And if you uses the Bio Gas in the BloomEnergy Fuel Cells which deserve the Name Efficient. That is Future Technology developed for the Mars Mission. Your Marketing might actually be telling the Truth, instead of BS.
Well how bout this. I'll set up my grid of innefficient solar panels and you obtain your land, harvest crops year round, and shovel cow dung into your expensive fuel cell. At the end of the day we both have power to our homes, but one of us did zero work and the other smells like cow ****. ;)
98 months ago
20% Efficiency is a Oxymoron.
even if 20% is the best we can do with Solar it is not efficient.
That is Marketing BS and nothing else. You could probably reach a higher efficiency by grown hay on the plot of land feeding Cattle an using there **** to fuel a Bloomberg Fuelcell with the Biogas.
But it its harder to Market if you had write "Powered by ****" even if they are saying the same with 20% Efficiency.
:p
Yes, except for the fact that the energy harvested by solar arrays is free and requires no input work energy. The sun will always be there, shining light, waiting for us to scoop it up. Your cow **** power idea? Not the same.
98 months ago
Holy s***! 20% is amazing! The best solar panels a few years ago could just manage around 12%. I never knew the technology was moving forward this fast. :eek:
To put it into perspective to non-Mechanical Engineers, an ideal Carnot Thermodynamic Cycle for a Power Plant is 44.5%. In reality, a far lower efficiency of Work/Heat for an ideal Nuclear Power Plant is possible.
An highly efficient Engine for an Otto Cycle you'd see in a Car is only 27%. Typically, it's around 22%.
Solar Panels are going to leap frog both. The hate for their superior efficiencies will be drowned out by the cost efficiencies of their systems in real world conditions.
98 months ago
Excellent.
Apple joins the future-minded fans of clean energy and less dependency of the crazy oil sheikhs and oil mullahs.
Apple joins the future-minded fans of clean energy and less dependency of the crazy oil sheikhs and oil mullahs.
98 months ago
Maybe but you gotta start sometime.
The first few years/decade will be the most expensive but in the long run, it will make the technology cheaper for the masses.
I'm not referring to the money. If you want green energy, you want to keep these cells running for as long as possible. If you keep replacing them whenever there is a technological improvement, there is lithe benefit from that.
98 months ago
20% Efficiency is a Oxymoron.
even if 20% is the best we can do with Solar it is not efficient.
That is Marketing BS and nothing else. You could probably reach a higher efficiency by grown hay on the plot of land feeding Cattle an using there **** to fuel a Bloomberg Fuelcell with the Biogas.
But it its harder to Market if you had write "Powered by ****" even if they are saying the same with 20% Efficiency.
:p
Even the first cars were slow and some people had to walk nearby with a flag ... Today we have lots of hours power and efficiency. It takes time; it takes tries. Innovation cycles.
Nice to see that :apple: takes is into reality; it ensure continuous improvement with the right technology.
98 months ago
Bad idea. These cells need years until they have collected the energy that was needed to produce them...
Maybe but you gotta start sometime.
The first few years/decade will be the most expensive but in the long run, it will make the technology cheaper for the masses.
98 months ago
Maybe I should feel like those people who bought a new Mac just before the updated ones came out.
Over the next couple of weeks I'll have 4 kw of the "E19" Sunpower panels mounted on my roof.
If I'd just waited I've have gotten another 1%.
But I'll sacrifice that 1% for something I can get installed now.
Over the next couple of weeks I'll have 4 kw of the "E19" Sunpower panels mounted on my roof.
If I'd just waited I've have gotten another 1%.
But I'll sacrifice that 1% for something I can get installed now.
98 months ago
This should help dispel misconceptions that solar power isn't ready for widespread implementation in the economy yet. Apple leads again.
[ Read All Comments ]
Amazon is offering customers a chance to save when pre-ordering the Apple Watch Series 5, which is set to be released this Friday, September 20. The retailer's sale is focused on select models of...
Apple premiered its first TV show at the Tribeca TV Festival on Saturday. Dickinson is a period drama that centers on the life of 19th century American poet Emily Dickinson, played by pop star Hailee...
Apple's biggest product unveiling of the year is now in our rear-view mirror, with the company taking the wraps off of new iPhone, Apple Watch, and iPad models while also prepping for the launch...
On the same day that iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max pre-orders began, some customers are already beginning to see their order statuses shift from "processing" to...
Struggling movie ticket subscription MoviePass is finally shutting down after months of questionable policy changes and what seems like a never ending stream of negative press due to an inability to...
For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Jackery to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win a Jackery Explorer 500 Portable Power Station and a Jackery Solar Saga 100W Solar Panel.
...
The iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max are now available for pre-order on Apple.com and cellular carriers as of this morning. As usual, most carriers are offering some perks if you...
The Academy Software Foundation, a collaborative effort to advance open source software development in the motion picture and media industries, today announced that Apple has joined the foundation as...
