Nestled in Maiden, North Carolina is a 500,000 square-foot data center for Apple’s iCloud services and Siri. The company published its 2012 Environmental Update today with new details about the upcoming solar farm and fuel cell facility that will power the billion dollar data center.
As we’ve told you before, a solar farm is being built on a 171 acre piece of land that sits adjacent to the data facility, and Apple revealed today that it will have the largest user-owned solar array in the United States. The 20-megawatt facility “will supply 42 million kWh of clean, renewable energy annually,” according to the report.
The Cupertino company is also excited that its facility has received LEED Platinum certification. “We know of no other data center of comparable size that has achieved this level of LEED certification. Our goal is to run the Maiden facility with high percentage renewable energy mix.”
The largest non-utility fuel cell installation will also power the Maiden data center. Apple said that it “demonstrates our commitment to reducing the environmental impact of our facilities through energy-efficient, green building design.”
Apple continues to lower its carbon footprint:
We continue to work toward the goal of achieving a net zero energy program for our corporate facilities worldwide. For more than 10 years, Apple has purchased renewable energy for our facilities around the globe. Our facilities located in Cork, Ireland; Munich, Germany; Austin, Texas; and Elk Grove, California are currently using 100 percent renewable energy resources.
You can read the full PDF report on Apple’s website.
