Although Apple is relatively low on the list of companies using eco-friendly energy resource, the company is striving to make a major shift to clear energy now. Now Apple is planning to built the largest user-owned solar array in America. This solar plant will be build at North Carolina and it will be a 20-megawatt plant which is spread over an area of 100 acres. Apple plans to power it’s data center with this solar plant and a fuel-cell plant, a move that has earned the data center the LEED Platinum Certification.
The solar facility that Apple is aspiring to build will be able to provide 42 kWh of clean energy. According to Apple, “Our goal is to run the Maiden facility with high percentage renewable energy mix, and we have major projects under way to achieve this — including building the nation’s largest end user-owned solar array and building the largest nonutility fuel cell installation in the United States.”
Apple has only recently revealed the details of a 5-megawatt fuel cell installation which will be the largest non-utility fuel cell installation in entire United States. The fuel cell will be powered by biogas, a clean energy source and will be able to produce 40 million kWh of power, 24 hours a day.
Earlier in 2009, Apple build a huge $1 billion server farm in Maiden. This data center in Maiden is mainly responsible for handling Apple’s iCloud and all relevant services. All the operations of iTunes Store are also handled through the same data center.
Apple is working very actively in reducing the carbon emissions of it’s devices. It was able to cut down by great numbers on the carbon emissions of Apple TV and iMac. The company has also improved on the iPhone front by reducing carbon emissions by 42 percent. This great push towards being eco-friendly by Apple is a very welcome move and may set a precedent for other companies.
[ttjad]
