The report, by Dianne Straley, says the notoriously closed-mouth, Cupertino, Calif.-based firm, has received permits from Catawba County, N.C., approving the clearing of about 171 acres for something Apple has code named “Project Dolphin Solar Farm A Expanded.”
The permit offers no detail about the solar farm itself, although it does indicate the site will have multiple gravel roads for access to its solar panels, Straley writes.
About the only thing that’s clear from the permits at this point is Apple is taking steps to ensure that the oil that that needs to be moved will be prevented from washing into nearby creeks and other sensitive areas that surround ins $1 billion data centre.
Straley reports that further details on the solar array will become publicly available when Apple applies for its actual building permits.
The company currently powers the data centre with electricity provided by Duke Energy, and it has been widely reported that Duke offered the tech company very low rates for its power as an incentive to locate the data centre in Maiden.
Duke Energy primarily relies on coal and nuclear plants to produce its power, although it does have one solar farm already in operation in Catawba County.
Earlier this year, Apple drew the ire of the environmentalist group Greenpeace, which identified it as the tech industry’s leading user of “dirty power” for its data centre, focusing particularly on the company’s North Carolina facility.
However, Apple’s web site notes that the company relies exclusively on renewable energy at facilities in Austin, Texas; Sacramento, Calif.; and Cork, Ireland, are 100 percent powered by renewable energy.
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