Apple to build solar panel farm at Reno, Nevada data centre

Apple and Nevada utility NV Energy are working out plans to build another solar panel farm next to a data centre, for Apple's new data centre in Reno, Nevada.

The iPhone maker is already building two solar panel farms next to its North Carolina data centre and with this latest solar farm in Reno, called the ''Ft. Churchill Solar Array,'' Apple was underlining its growing commitment to clean power at its new facilities.

The new solar farm is in addition to the two centres in Maiden, NC and was also in-line with Apple's continued efforts to move to renewable energy in its facilities.  The company's manufacturing site in Cork, Ireland, is powered entirely by wind, with sites in Elk Grove, California, and Austin, Texas, also powered by renewable energy as well.

Apple's solar farm in Reno would generate between 18 to 20 MW worth of power, which was about the same size as its two solar plants in North Carolina, which were both 20 MW in size. For an independent company (not a utility), espeically an internet company, 18 to 20 MW was a very large solar system.

However, for the Reno solar farm, Apple plans to deploy a new type of technology for the solar system, which included both solar panels as also mirrors that concentrated the sun's rays up to seven times onto the panels, increasing the amount of power generated.

Apple is working with solar company SunPower on the engineering and construction, as also the tracker technology that would be used with the solar panels. For its North Carolina solar farms too, Apple had worked with SunPower.

''All of Apple's data centers use 100 per cent 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,'' Apple said in a statement. ''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,'' Apple said.

Apple is looking to eventually power all its facilities with 100 per cent renewable energy.

According to Mindy Lubber, president of Ceres, a nonprofit sustainability advocacy group, renewable energy projects were vital for the future and it was exciting to see an innovative company like Apple find creative ways to invest in solar power for its data centres.