A court in Dublin, Ireland has determined that Apple has permission to officially start work building its 850 million euro ($960 million) data center in Athenry, County Galway.
The new data center was given the go-ahead over two years ago, but has been hit with numerous delays since then due to legal issues. The giant data center will help power Apple Music, the App Store, iMessages, Maps and Siri.
Over the weekend, more than 300 people in Ireland staged a rally in support of Apple’s proposed 850 million ($960 million) euro data center in Athenry, County Galway.
The new data center was officially given the go-ahead over two years ago, although construction on it has been delayed by continuing legal issues. If built, the data center will help power Apple Music, the App Store, iMessages, Maps and Siri — while providing plenty of jobs to locals.
Apple will help launch a new data center in the Guizhou province of China to boost iCloud services locally.
A new report claims the company has signed a cooperation agreement with the government to invest $1 billion in the facility, which will be maintained by a third-party.
Apple is setting up a new data center in China, in partnership with local data management firm Guizhou-Cloud Big Data Industry (GCDB), in order to meet new cybersecurity rules.
The new tougher cybersecurity laws were introduced in China last month, requiring cloud services in the country to be operated by Chinese companies.
Apple will be building a massive $1 billion expansion of its Reno data center, five years after it first opened the Nevada facility. The expansion will provide 100 new jobs in the region, while construction will add an extra 300 temporary positions.
“We’re excited to be increasing our contributions to the local economy with an additional $1 billion investment to expand our data center and supporting facilities,” said Apple spokesperson John Rosenstock.
Apple is taking another big step to make sure it can utilize 100 percent renewable energy for its operations by expanding the solar farm it uses in Nevada.
The company revealed today that it has reached an agreement with NV Energy to add infrastructure that will generate 200 megawatts of additional solar energy by 2019. Energy created by the project will go to power Apple’s Reno data center, but some of the power will also be available to residents.
Apple says it has no plans to manufacture high-tech servers in the USA, despite a recent report claiming the iPhone-maker applied for permission to do “high-tech manufacturing” at its site in Mesa, Arizona.
The Mesa center was previously the home of Apple’s ex-sapphire supplier that went bankrupt in 2014. Instead of seeking permission to manufacture on the site, Apple clarified that it is actually just applying to renew the original Foreign Trade-Zone status of the location that brings some big tax benefits.
The fate of Apple’s proposed data center in Ireland is finally on the fast-track.
After facing an 18-month delay due to an appeal from two Irish residents, Ireland’s High Court agreed to Apple’s request to speed up the legal process. Now instead of waiting until 2018, the court has to resolve the case within six months.
After a period of delays and an official hearing with Irish regulatory body An Bord Pleanála, Apple has finally been given permission to move ahead with its 500-acre data center site near the west coast of Ireland.
Apple’s case was heard back in May this year, but it took until recently for inspector Stephen Kay to submit his recommendations to the Irish advisory board about the $960 million project.
Apple can expect to get a final verdict on whether it can continue development on its proposed 850 million euro ($960 million) data centre in Athenry, Ireland later this month.
An oral hearing concerning the major development took place earlier this year, and inspector Stephen Kay has now submitted his recommendations to the Irish advisory board about the project.