Apple is building a new, smaller data center on its Maiden, NC campus. The new construction is in addition to the world’s largest private fuel-cell installation and solar farm.
According to Apple’s design plans on file with Catawba County, the new 21,030-square-foot data center, also referred to as a “tactical” data center, will store clusters of servers. Permits filed with the county list the cost of the new 11-room data center at $1,885,129.
Mechanical permits for the project call for the installation of 22 air conditioners, five fans, 14 humidifiers, six electric unit heaters, one electric duct heat louvers and duct work.
An electrical permit refers to the building as a “non-occupied equipment building.”
The building will be equipped with high-security measures, as it will have “man-trap” security doors at each end that forces a person to be cleared to go through an additional second door to get inside the main building space. An 8-foot-high chain-link security fence will also surround the building, according to architectural plans.
The architectural site plans show the small data center t-boned to the existing data center. Plans also show a footprint for a larger data center that would run nearly parallel to the existing one.
