AppleInsider StaffIn its ongoing efforts to be a "green company," Apple will reportedly deploy a large solar array to power its datacenter in Reno, N.V., with current plans calling for a new energy focusing technology to increase efficiency.
In a partnership with Nevada utility NV Energy, Apple plans to build a solar farm that will output between 18 and 20 megawatts of power, reports GigaOM. Apple's two solar arrays in Maiden, N.C. also generate around 20 MW of energy each.
Instead of using a traditional setup, Apple is working with SunPower to construct a system that uses mirrors to concentrate the sun's energy by seven times onto conventional solar panels. SunPower, which helped Apple build out its Maiden solar farms, has also been tapped to engineer the tracking technology that will sync the mirrors to follow the path of the sun for maximum efficiency.
Further, Apple is one of the first companies to take advantage of a new environmentally-friendly tariff set up by Nevada's utility commission. With its partnership with NV Energy, the company will be able to pay for the build cost. Under the tariff, NV Energy can one day opt to pay Apple to use the solar farm, or buy the array outright. In addition, Apple can expand the array in the future.
While the solar system is being installed, Apple plans to tap into local geothermal power, a clean source of energy that is reportedly abundant in the region.
Apple also issued a statement regarding the project:
All of Apple’s data centers use 100 percent renewable energy, and we are on track to meet that goal in our new Reno data center using the latest in high-efficiency concentrating solar panels. This project will not only supply renewable energy for our data center but also provide clean energy to the local power grid, through a first-of-its-kind partnership with NV Energy. When completed, the 137 acre solar array will generate approximately 43.5 million kilowatt hours of clean energy, equivalent to taking 6,400 passenger vehicles off the road per year.
Along with the first pictures of Apple's Reno datacenter and supporting facilities, AppleInsider has an in-depth look at the project here.
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17 Comments
Waiting for Greenpeace to claim Apple is lying about its data center power consumption and they really take 4x more electricity than they claim.
Too bad the clean power is just offsetting another form of clean power. It would be nice to see more of these projects in the northwest where there is far too much dirty power being used.
Apple continues to spend more money on projects Wall Street considers a waste of profits. Apple will get no thanks for this clean energy drive. As a shareholder, I'm glad they're doing something that is important to help fight pollution. However, the hedge funds aren't too happy at all.
Good for Apple. Coal is currently 35% of US energy. Three years from now it will be less than 16%. There is no such thing as "clean" coal.
2,3,4...someone say something negative!
They need all this renewable energy so they can start mining Bitcoins.