Apple says it plans to invest EUR 1.7 billion to build and operate two European data centers that will each be powered by 100% renewable energy.
According to Apple, the new data centers – located in County Galway, Ireland, and Denmark's central Jutland – will run entirely on renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar.
The company 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. These facilities will have the lowest environmental impact yet for an Apple data center, the company notes.
Apple is certainly no stranger to renewable energy. Nearly two years ago, the company said it would power all of its data centers with renewable energy. In fact, output from nearby wind farms powers the company's Newark data center and Cupertino, Calif.-based corporate headquarters.
The European data centers are expected to begin operations in 2017 and will include additional benefits for their communities within their designs.
For the data center based in Ireland, Apple says it will recover land previously used for growing and harvesting non-native trees and will restore native trees to the forest. In Denmark, for example, Apple will eliminate the need for additional generators by locating the data center adjacent to one of the country's largest electrical substations.
