Massive iCloud Data Centers Powered By A ‘Green Apple’

Data centers for services like Apple’s iCloud are notorious energy hogs requiring huge loads of electricity to power the rows and rows of servers operating in a pristine climate controlled environment. They use as much power as small cities. A case in point is Apple’s iCloud data center in Maiden, NC which uses as much power as 14,000 homes. In NC, however, between 60 and 100 percent of power is supplied by Apple’s two 55,000 solar panel farms and biogas fuel cells. That is amazing!

One of Apple’s solar panel farms near Maiden, North Carolina

Apple’s two solar farms in North Carolina are already the largest privately owned renewable energy installations in the USA. Apple recently received approval to  significantly boost the number of solar panels being used to power its data center in North Carolina by building another 100-acre, 17.5MW solar panel farm in Claremont near Maiden. Apple claims that with solar panels, biogas fuel cells plus other renewable energy sources its data center is 100% powered by clean energy.

The 2nd of Apple’s solar panel farms in North Carolina

  Because of North Carolina state laws, the energy from the solar farms and fuel cells, running on biogas pumped in from a landfill. is fed into the main power grid owned by Duke Energy.  Apple then uses the energy it needs from the grid. This setup also means Apple doesn’t need large batteries, or other forms of energy storage, to keep the power going when the sun goes down and its solar panels stop producing electricity. Duke Energy is a big supporter of this setup. 

Thousands of servers cooled 75% of the time by water chilled by night air

According to data compiled by the Climate Desk, Google uses renewable energy to power about a third of its data centers. Facebook says its new Iowa data center will run entirely off wind power when it comes on-line in 2015. Microsoft has announced a second wind farm in Illinois to power its data centers. Apple is well ahead of all of its competitors with 100% of data centers running on renewable energy.

Steve Jobs at the Apple Data Center in North Carolina

Here are a few other of Apple’s Green Energy Projects Huge Prineville, OR data center under construction Prineville, Oregon - Our data center in Prineville, Oregon, is every bit as environmentally responsible as the one in Maiden, NC. We’re building a micro‑hydro system that will harness the power of water that flows through local irrigation canals. When completed in 2014, it will serve most of the center’s energy needs. In the meantime, since Oregon allows the direct wholesale purchase of renewable energy, we’re able to directly access enough local wind energy to power the entire data center. Reno, Nevada - Our newest data center, in Reno, Nevada, follows in the footsteps of our 100 percent renewable energy centers in Maiden and Prineville. We’re working with the local utility to co-develop an 18‑ to 20‑megawatt solar array using a new kind of photovoltaic panel with curved mirrors to concentrate sunlight. Expected to be operational in early 2015, the solar array will have an annual production capacity of over 43 million kilowatt‑hours of clean, renewable energy. Until then, the center will be powered by renewable geothermal energy purchased from the local utility. Newark, California - Like our facilities in Maiden, Prineville, and Reno, our data center in Newark, California, is powered by 100 percent renewable energy. We hit this milestone in January 2013, when we began serving the data center with energy sourced primarily from California wind power. We’re acquiring this energy directly from the wholesale market through California’s Direct Access program.

Solar Energy was the fastest growing industry in the US last year. One would think this would be a no-brainer. One would be wrong. Right-wing GOP conservatives hate solar power or any other form of renewable energy that threatens Big Oil.

Fox's Neil Cavuto hosted commentator Steve Milloy twice recently to blast the solar industry. Milloy said that "the solar industry is leading the country ... right down the toilet." He went on to claim that “Half the time solar panels don't even work. Half the time they do work they produce expensive electricity. This is just lose, lose, lose, for America. We can't do it here. Solar panels don't make economic sense anywhere. They are strictly a luxury item.”

The Koch’s have pushed anti-solar campaigns in Kansas, NC and Arizona

So, who do you believe - the energy genius’ of Fox News or the CEO’s of America’s richest, largest and most profitable corporations (i.e. Apple, Microsoft, Google and Facebook)? According to Fox News all of these guys are idiots and losers who are building solar panel farms that don’t work! Yah, right Fox! Fox News and the GOP are in bed with Big Oil to try and protect the dirty fossil fuel industry – wackos!!

Thanks for visiting!