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Apple building 174 acre solar farm to power North Carolina data center
9To5Mac.com ^

Posted on 10/29/2011 9:00:47 AM PDT by matt04

Charlotte Observer is reporting that Apple has begun work building a 174 acre solar farm to power their new Maiden, North Carolina data center. The data center, located in Catawba County, was revealed by Steve Jobs during the iOS 5 keynote at WWDC this year, and will be partly responsible for powering iCloud. It was revealed earlier this year that Apple was purchasing land around the data center. Now we know why.

Permits issued by Catawba County show that the Cupertino, Calif., company has been approved to reshape the slope of some of the 171 acres of vacant land it owns on Startown Road, opposite the data center, in preparation of building a solar farm.

(Excerpt) Read more at 9to5mac.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; News/Current Events; US: North Carolina
KEYWORDS: apple; datacenter; maiden; northcarolina; solar
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To: Arrowhead1952

How susceptible to hail damage are those things?


61 posted on 10/29/2011 5:20:17 PM PDT by Mind-numbed Robot
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To: Arrowhead1952

That is the ugliest dumbest waste of good land I have ever seen....well, except for the windfarms.


62 posted on 10/29/2011 5:31:03 PM PDT by dforest
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To: Noamie
I hope they have a terrific water source. Washing 174 acres of panels isn’t a one well job.

They'll have an oloephobic coating so they can be just wiped down with a dry cloth.

63 posted on 10/29/2011 6:46:19 PM PDT by ReignOfError
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To: the invisib1e hand

The term you’re looking for is “solar strip-mining”.

And I don’t have a problem with it if appropriately situated, and kudos to Apple for getting at least part of their operation off the grid. Solar can be effective if done right at the correct scale (yeah, it can be screwed up pretty easily too).


64 posted on 10/29/2011 6:53:53 PM PDT by ctdonath2 ($1 meals: http://abuckaplate.blogspot.com/)
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To: matt04

It’s a private American company using vacant privately-owned land to get at least partly self-sufficient with power usage. Insofar as tax breaks may be involved, kudos to anyone who can reduce what an overspending government confiscates from them.

This is a GOOD THING.


65 posted on 10/29/2011 6:58:09 PM PDT by ctdonath2 ($1 meals: http://abuckaplate.blogspot.com/)
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To: saganite

“. They’re certainly not doing it because it’s cost effective.”

You are awfully certain based on what?


66 posted on 10/29/2011 7:02:44 PM PDT by cowtowney
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To: BOOHA

That “1 building” is about 12 acres of indoor space. About 20% larger than the Astrodome, and most of that space filled floor to ceiling with rack-mounted servers. One estimate puts its power use at about 100 megawatts.


67 posted on 10/29/2011 7:03:18 PM PDT by ReignOfError
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To: RobinOfKingston

“One hundred and seventy-four acres dedicated to powering, if not one building, then one endeavor, a data center, in a group of buildings. There is terminal stupidity behind this.”

Do you even know anything about data centers? Do you know how much electricity they use?
Who is the biggest private user of electricity in the world?
Any idea? It’s Google. Know why?

Apple is the largest cap company in the world. Any idea why?

So many similar ignorant comments on this thread without any thought.


68 posted on 10/29/2011 7:07:54 PM PDT by cowtowney
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To: matt04

If you store on iCloud, better watch the weather reports for North Carolina! Cloudy days, and your access ist kaputt.


69 posted on 10/29/2011 7:10:19 PM PDT by Revolting cat! (Let us prey!)
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To: the invisib1e hand

“It’s just another corporation now, an annex of the burgeoning fascist state.”

Corporations are part of a “burgeoning fascist state?”


70 posted on 10/29/2011 7:12:55 PM PDT by cowtowney
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To: yldstrk; matt04; Swordmaker
"what the aich is a solar farm, sounds like some goofy Apple thing"

Your irrational, knee-jerk hatred of all things Apple is making your ignorance stick out like your shiny heinie:

Use of the term, "farm" for land plots populated with repeated arrays of technical items has been in use for at least a hundred years. Example: the "tank farm":

Don't believe me? Google Image search for "tank farm" or "wind farm" -- or, even "solar farm" -- for yourself...

~~~~~~~~~~~~

ADS: never fails to expose the ignorant...

71 posted on 10/29/2011 7:13:03 PM PDT by TXnMA ("Allah": Satan's current alias...)
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To: cowtowney
Corporations are part of a “burgeoning fascist state?”

absolutely.

72 posted on 10/29/2011 7:16:53 PM PDT by the invisib1e hand (...then they came for the guitars, and we kicked their sorry faggot asses into the dust)
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To: matt04
What's the consensus here - that this is going to be a facist farm?
73 posted on 10/29/2011 7:18:30 PM PDT by Revolting cat! (Let us prey!)
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To: the invisib1e hand

“Corporations are part of a “burgeoning fascist state?”
absolutely.”

Based on what?


74 posted on 10/29/2011 7:21:34 PM PDT by cowtowney
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To: cowtowney

do your own homework.


75 posted on 10/29/2011 7:22:44 PM PDT by the invisib1e hand (...then they came for the guitars, and we kicked their sorry faggot asses into the dust)
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To: cowtowney
No way this is a PR move.

Now _that's_ funny,

76 posted on 10/29/2011 7:27:33 PM PDT by FourPeas ("Maladjusted and wigging out is no way to go through life, son." -hg)
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To: Revolting cat!

“What’s the consensus here - that this is going to be a facist farm?”

Is this sarcasm? Private monies are being spent. Are there subsidies? Probably. Will that make up for a bad business decision? No way.

Who cares if it makes money? It’s not yours, unless you are an Apple stockholder. Otherwise, it’s none of your business.

Don’t like solar subsidies? Take it up w your Congressman.
Don’t like Apple using solar? Don’t buy their products.

Otherwise, it’s their business decision, whether it’s a 5 yr payback or a 25 yr payback.


77 posted on 10/29/2011 7:31:32 PM PDT by cowtowney
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To: cowtowney

Besides not getting the joke, you didn’t answer my question?


78 posted on 10/29/2011 7:33:29 PM PDT by Revolting cat! (Let us prey!)
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To: the invisib1e hand

“do your own homework.”
Done it

Stop being mentally lazy. If you’ve got something to refute, back it up


79 posted on 10/29/2011 7:33:37 PM PDT by cowtowney
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To: matt04

The real question:

Is Apple doing this by CHOICE - as in this is what they as a company WANT to do... ???

Or is this a government-mandate?

I suspect that Apple has chosen this of their own free-will. And in that case - they have every right to do this (assuming no endangered sand slug or weed is found on the property....).


80 posted on 10/29/2011 8:19:29 PM PDT by TheBattman (They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature...)
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