Apple today announced plans to spend $2 billion to build two new state of the art data centers in Europe, both powered by 100 percent renewable energy. The new facilities, located in County Galway, Ireland, and Denmark’s central Jutland, will power Apple’s online services including the iTunes Store, App Store, iMessage, Maps, and Siri for European customers.
“We are grateful for Apple’s continued success in Europe and proud that our investment supports communities across the continent,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “This significant new investment represents Apple’s biggest project in Europe to date. We’re thrilled to be expanding our operations, creating hundreds of local jobs and introducing some of our most advanced green building designs yet.”
Like all Apple data centers, the new facilities will run 100 percent on clean, renewable energy sources from day one. The facilities will have the lowest environmental impact yet for an Apple data center. Apple says it will also work with local partners to develop additional renewable energy projects from wind or other sources to provide power in the future.
“We believe that innovation is about leaving the world better than we found it, and that the time for tackling climate change is now,” said Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of Environmental Initiatives. “We’re excited to spur green industry growth in Ireland and Denmark and develop energy systems that take advantage of their strong wind resources. Our commitment to environmental responsibility is good for the planet, good for our business and good for the European economy.”
Apple will eliminate the need for additional generators in the Denmark center by locating the center adjacent to one of Denmark’s largest electrical substations. The facility will also capture excess heat created by the equipment in the facility, and conduct it into the district’s heating system, to be used to heat homes in the neighboring community.
