Neil Hughes
The new 11-room, 21,030-square-foot data center will cost Apple $1,885,129, according to county permits discovered by the Hickory Daily Record. The documents refer the facility as a "tactical" data center that will store clusters of servers.
Located at 5977 Startown Road in Maiden, the new building has permits for 22 air conditioners, five fans, 14 humidifiers, six electrical unit heaters, one electric duct heat louvers, and ductwork. The small facility will also have one unisex bathroom, and will not be used to house employees.
Also detailed in the filing are what author Sharon McBrayer referred to as "tight security measures," including "man trap" security doors that will require people to go through two doors to gain access, and an 8-foot-high chain-link security fence.
Apple first selected the property in Maiden for its massive $1 billion server farm in 2009. It opened last spring, and currently supports Apple's iTunes and iCloud services.
Though the facility is operational, a great deal of expansion continues at the property, in addition to the forthcoming "tactical" data center. Apple is planning both a solar farm and a fuel cell installation for its onsite facilities that will allow the data center to rely on 100 percent renewable energy by the end of this year.
Apple's new solar array will be the largest end-user-owned onsite facility of its kind in the country. It will be located on 171 acres of vacant land on Startown Road that was acquired by Apple.
The 5-megawatt fuel cell installation will also be the largest non-utility fuel cell installation in the U.S., and will be powered by 100 percent biogas.
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26 Comments
The 5-megawatt fuel cell installation will also be the largest non-utility fuel cell installation in the U.S., and will be powered by 100 percent biogas.
Damn, I wonder if they would spend the money on this if they didn't pick EPEAT back up.
It takes longer than that to plan something that big. Remember, they're dealing with local bureaucrats... and the EPEAT withdrawal must have occurred in the middle of the planning so no, and doubly no to your question.
With the Fuel Cell using Biogas I can really imagine Steve Ballmer thinking "We're really in the sh1t now!"
[quote name="logandigges" url="/t/151382/apple-building-second-tactical-data-center-in-north-carolina#post_2150050"]Damn, I wonder if they would spend the money on this if they didn't pick EPEAT back up. [/quote] My guess is yes. First of all, EPEAT has nothing to do with environmental ratings of manufacturing or service facilities, as far as I can tell. Second, it is likely that Apple wants completely control/responsibility about the power availability to this site. They might need to plug into the utility power grid when the fuel cell installation needs maintenance, or for emergencies, but for the most part, the site operator would probably have a rotating maintenance schedule that would not create any downtime. Contrast this to a regular power utility, where Apple might not be first in line for power if there was some sort of power capacity issue.
I'm hoping that "tactical" means "extra load handling." It took hours and hours to pre-order my trusty old iPhone 4 more than 2 years ago.
Would be nice if Apple and/or AT&T could add temporary server power for high-load events like pre-ordering the iPhone (6th gen).
[quote name="AppleInsider" url="/t/151382/apple-building-second-tactical-data-center-in-north-carolina#post_2150033"]The new 11-room, 21,030-square-foot data center will cost Apple $1,885,129,[/quote] OK, one-eight-eight-five-one-two-nine, wait... Ah, ok. That's not a comma but a dot. Thanks Winston-Salem Journal.