A Bright Idea

Apple has a new data center in Reno, Nevada.  They are building a solar panel farm to power the center that includes both solar panels and also mirrors that concentrate the sun’s rays up to seven times onto the panels. That process increases the amount of power generated.

Mirrors that shine more light on the panels - what a bright idea!

Because building the solar farm might take awhile, Apple plans to also use local geothermal power (the Galena 3 geothermal facility), which is widely available in the Reno area. Part of the reason that Apple chose to build its next data center in Reno, Nevada was because of the abundant clean power there.

All of Apple’s data centers use 100 percent renewable energy. This project will not only supply renewable energy for the data center but also provide clean energy to the local power grid. When completed, the 137 acre solar array will generate approximately 43.5 million kilowatt hours of clean energy, equivalent to taking 6,400 passenger vehicles off the road per year.

[Full disclosure:  I own NO Apple products.  My phone runs Android.]