After setting up a massive 500,000 square foot data center in Maiden, North Carolina, it appears that Apple’s isn’t quite finished with its data center push.
OregonLive reported this weekend that Apple is exploring the possibility of opening up a new data center in Prineville, Oregon and that it already has an option to purchase 160 acres of land in the area. Apple has until the end of the month to exercise the option before it expires.
The report notes that Oregon is becoming an increasingly attractive destination for companies looking to open up data centers on account of its mild climate, low power costs, and more importantly, attractive tax breaks. Incidentally, tax considerations were at the heart of Apple’s decision to open up its mammoth data center in North Carolina. As a quick reminder, Apple’s data center in North Carolina checks in at over 500,000 square feet. By way of comparison, even the largest data centers operated by the likes of Google and Microsoft only measure in at 200,000-300,000 square feet.
Before Apple makes a final determination, it’s awaiting word as to whether or not the center in Prineville will be able to supply the proposed data center with enough electricity.
Apple is expanding its data center capacity to support its iTunes music downloads and its new iCloud service, which stores customers’ photos, songs, videos and documents online. The company opened a $1 billion facility in North Carolina.
Data center growth in North Carolina is moving parallel to activity in Oregon; Google has a data center there, and Facebook is now building a data center in North Carolina modeled on its first facility in Prineville.
This past June at WWDC, you might remember that Steve Jobs gave us a brief glimpse into Apple’s North Carolina Data Center, and in reference to cloud computing, emphatically stated, “We’re serious about this.”
Mon, Dec 5, 2011
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