Earlier this year, Apple announced that as part of an effort to power all of its data centers with 100% renewable energy it would be building a second 20-megawatt solar farm a few miles away from its new Maiden, North Carolina data center. The new solar farm would complement the previously announced 20-megawatt facility that appears to be nearing completion directly across the street from the data center.
Solar panels at Apple's first North Carolina solar farm (Source: Jeremy Detter/Hickory Daily Record)
The location of the second solar farm was not immediately revealed at that time, but the Hickory Daily Record now reports (via 9to5Mac) that Apple has just purchased 200 acres land for the solar farm at a cost of $3 million. The plot is located nearly 15 miles from the data center and is being co-located with a new North Carolina Data Campus designed to attract other companies in need of data center capacity.
Apple recently closed on the land purchase that includes a tract of 218.885 acres and another tract of 0.251 acres, according to deeds and a plat book at the Catawba County Register of Deeds. [...]
The Conover site is the only other property Apple now owns in the area in addition to the main data center campus and solar farm in Maiden. With the two solar farms and a bio-gas-powered 5-megawatt fuel cell installation, it will be the largest non-utility installation in the country, according to Apple. The company expects to generate 124 million kWh a year, which would power the equivalent of 10,874 homes, Apple says on its website.
Several local governments have banded together to create the new North Carolina Data Campus, which has purchased an additional 55 acres for its purposes at the site. Facebook and Microsoft had reportedly looked at the site as a potential data center, but ultimately selected other locations due to a lack of existing infrastructure. The new data campus entity will work to provide the necessary infrastructure in order to make the site more appealing to other companies.
If they really wanted to generate some power, they'd built a big coal power plant right next to the data center. The smog will keep people from getting to close to the data center
Can't wait to see how many acres of forest will be bulldozed for Apple's next "green" energy source.
Do your homework so you don't appear to be stupid. I drive by the site on my way yo Atlanta on a regular basis. Much of the site was fields. The number of trees that came down was minimal. The yellow outline is what Apple bought. Many of the trees are still there.
Monday December 5, 2022 11:44 am PST by Juli Clover
Due to production issues at Apple supplier factories in China, the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max are backordered and basically out of stock at every store. If you were planning to gift or receive an iPhone 14 Pro model for the holidays and didn't already get one, you're basically out of luck because they're gone until late December.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more ...
Thursday December 1, 2022 8:44 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple plans to publicly release iOS 16.2 for the iPhone in mid-December, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The update remains in beta testing for now, with at least eight new features and changes already uncovered so far.
iOS 16.2 introduces a number of new features, including Apple's new whiteboard app Freeform, two new Lock Screen widgets for Sleep and Medications, the ability to hide...
Tuesday December 6, 2022 2:31 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple is aiming to launch an Apple-branded consumer-oriented vehicle by 2026, and its goal is to hit a price point under $100,000 to make the car appeal to a wider range of customers, reports Bloomberg.
Apple initially planned to design a car that might look similar to Canoo's Lifestyle Vehicle, where passengers could face one another in a limousine-style car with no steering wheel or...
Saturday December 3, 2022 10:23 am PST by Joe Rossignol
iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max, iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max, and iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max models feature a LiDAR Scanner next to the rear camera that can be used to measure a person's height instantly in Apple's preinstalled Measure app.
To measure a person's height, simply open the Measure app, point your iPhone at the person you want to measure, and make sure they are visible on the screen from...
Tuesday December 6, 2022 7:09 am PST by Sami Fathi
Apple today announced Apple Music Sing, a new feature in Apple Music that lets users sing their favorite songs with adjustable vocals and more.
Apple Music Sing will utilize Apple Music's real-time lyrics to allow users to sing to their favorite songs using adjustable vocals, background vocals, and duet view to allow more than one singer.Apple Music Sing includes:
Adjustable vocals: Users...
The next-generation MacBook Pro models could feature faster RAM, according to a recent report from a reliable source.
MacRumors Forums member "Amethyst," who accurately revealed details about the Mac Studio and Studio Display before those products were announced, recently provided information about Apple's upcoming 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro models. The new machines are expected to feature...
Monday December 5, 2022 12:38 am PST by Tim Hardwick
UK-based tech company Nothing plans to launch a smartphone in the US to directly compete with Apple's iPhone, according to a new report out today. In an interview with CNBC, Nothing CEO Carl Pei said the startup is in "early conversations" with American cellular carriers about launching a new phone in the US, but he stopped short of naming any of the carriers or the phone model.
Nothing...
Sunday December 4, 2022 7:38 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Mass shipments of Apple's long-rumored AR/VR headset may be delayed until the second half of 2023 due to unspecified "software-related issues," according to the latest information shared today by tech analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
Apple headset render by Ian Zelbo Kuo said mass shipments of components for the headset are still likely to begin in the first half of 2023, but he believes that mass...
Friday December 2, 2022 2:13 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple in late October began testing iOS 16.2 and iPadOS 16.2 updates, providing betas to both developers and public beta testers. As of now, we've had four total betas, with the fourth beta having been released earlier this week. iOS 16.2 and iPadOS 16.2 are expected before the end of the year, and we thought we'd try to narrow down the launch timeline.
With only four betas released since...
Top Rated Comments
Solar? What a bunch of wimpy liberals.
If they really wanted to generate some power, they'd built a big coal power plant right next to the data center. The smog will keep people from getting to close to the data center
Do your homework so you don't appear to be stupid. I drive by the site on my way yo Atlanta on a regular basis. Much of the site was fields. The number of trees that came down was minimal. The yellow outline is what Apple bought. Many of the trees are still there.
north carolina is below average for solar
http://www.wri.org/image/view/11262/_original
no one ever heard of florida? sunshine state
arizona? new mexico?
because NC has low sunshine this means to get the same amount of power as would be obtained in arizona, they had to double the size of the solar farm.