Apple’s solar farm in North Carolina is massive. Right now it’s the size of 109 football fields, but even that isn’t enough to make their data center run on 100% renewable energy, so Apple wants to make it bigger. To increase the amount of solar energy they’re able to generate, Apple just bought 200 acres of property in Catawba County for $3 million.
The purchase of land is part of Apple’s effort to have their main data center running on 100% renewable energy by the end of the year. Once the solar farm is set up, Apple says it will generate 42 million kWh annually to match the energy output of the solar farm next to the data center.
Apple has also invested in a bio-gas-powered 5-megawatt fuel cell installation that will be the largest non-utility installation in the country. Able to generate 124 million kWh a year, Apple says they will produce enough energy to power the equivalent of 10,874 homes.
Source: Hickory Daily Record