Apple Inc. (AAPL) Goes Even Greener With New Planned Solar Farm

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Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is planning to build another new solar farm which will supply power to its data center in Nevada, reports Reuters’ Avik Das and Poornima Gupta. NV Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NVE) will be working with Apple on building the solar farm.

Apple Inc. (AAPL) Goes Even Greener With New Planned Solar Farm

Details On Apple’s Solar Farms

The facility will serve the electric grid operated by Sierra Pacific Power Co., which serves Apple’s data center in Reno. When it is finished, it will generate approximately 43.5 million kilowatts of solar power ever year, according to Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s statement.

The company’s biggest data center in the U.S. is already operating on solar power. The facility in Maiden, North Carolina produces 167 million kilowatt hours every year. That’s about the same amount of power that is needed to run 17,600 homes over the course of a year. The solar farm which runs the North Carolina data center is 100 acres in size and uses fuel cells made by Bloom Energy, a Silicon Valley startup company.

Apple’s Green Track Record

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and other major tech companies have been under fire for the high energy consumption of their data centers, but those data centers have become an important backbone of the world’s infrastructure.

The company recently hired former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Lisa Jackson to head up its environmental plans. Greenpeace praised Apple for the move, saying that it was a “bold one” and that Jackson has a great reputation in fighting against toxic waste. He believes she will be able to make Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) the environmental leader in the tech world.

Apple’s facilities are now 75 percent powered by sustainable energy like solar, wind and hydro power. The solar farm in North Carolina is the biggest privately owned one in the world. The company said earlier this year that it’s working toward having 100 percent of its facilities running on sustainable energy. The company has certainly gone a long way from the D grade it received from Greenpeace a year ago.

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