Some news is good enough that we don’t mind hearing it a second time (or a third). Apple gave its customersthe best kind of dj vu this week whena local newspaperin North Carolina reported that the company is building its third large solar farm in North Carolina to power its data center there, thebuilding that stores all of your photos, videosand iTunes.
Apples latest investment, a17.5 MW solar farm in Claremont, NC, shows that it is committed to keeping its promise of powering theiCloud with 100 % renewable energy. iCloud users should feel good knowing that clean, solar energy is powering theironline lives.
In North Carolina, a state which has featured a booming solar industry in the past two years, Apple’s moveshowshowsolarenergy can bea big lurefor the state to bring in modern, innovative companies like Applethatwant topower with renewable energy. If North Carolina wants to keep bringing those kinds of businesses to the state,its regulatorsshouldmake sure to properly value and support solar power, despite opposition from North Carolina’s monopoly utility,Duke Energy, which sees solar as a threat.
Unfortunately, not all technology companies are showing the same forward thinking as Apple.Jeff Bezos, for one, should take notice of Tim Cooks leadership as Apple proves that we can power our online lives with renewable energy, leavingAmazon further in the dust. With Amazons release of the new Fire smartphone and theassociated growth in its photo storage, the onus is even higher on Amazon tocommit to powering its data centers with 100% renewable energy, as its peers like Apple have done, or it risks becoming an even bigger polluter.
