The Cupertino giant actually supplies energy to the Maiden, NC power grid

Apr 25, 2014 16:43 GMT  ·  By
Apple Vice President of Environmental Initiatives Lisa Jackson, interviewed by NBC Today
   Apple Vice President of Environmental Initiatives Lisa Jackson, interviewed by NBC Today

In an interview for NBC Today, Apple Vice President of Environmental Initiatives Lisa Jackson revealed to environmental correspondent Anne Thompson that the company’s solar array in Maiden, North Carolina, produces more electricity than it actually needs to power the iCloud.

Every app we download and every FaceTime chat we conduct requires Apple to supply constant power to its data center in Maiden, North Carolina (and other server farms it owns in other parts of the country).

The main power hogs are apparently not the servers themselves, but the cooling systems installed in these facilities. Even with huge fans sucking out the heat from the server racks, the temperature is still 100 degrees Fahrenheit / 37 degrees Celsius inside the data center.

Lisa Jackson tells her interviewer that Apple wants to leave its footprint on planet Earth not in carbon, but in setting an example on how to obtain clean energy.

“We think this is an opportunity for us and for our sector to leave it better than we find it, to actually help people convert to cleaner energy without even knowing they're doing it,” Jackson said.

She revealed that, on a sunny day, the Maiden, NC data center actually produces excess power that is supplied to the city’s power grid, essentially making Apple a small player in the electric business. It isn’t clear if the company actually charges dollars for the energy it supplies to the city’s power grid, but it’s not out of the question.

The company is adamant in its environmental endeavors, something it evidenced most recently by branding its entire Apple.com site with a picture of the solar array in question (the biggest of its kind in the country) and the message, “We want to leave the world better than we found it.”

Clicking the ad opens a video narrated by CEO Tim Cook himself, who skims over the key efforts Apple is making to leave its mark on the world.

An all-new Environment microsite is also available, featuring detailed descriptions of the process behind every environmental initiative. Apple is not shy to brag of the various accolades it has received over the years from organizations like Greenpeace.

In its latest report, the nonprofit acknowledged that Apple was the only player in the tech sector whose data centers are entirely powered by renewable energy. Visit Apple’s Environment site to see how the company is reducing its impact on climate change while also struggling to stay ahead of competitors in the electronics industry.

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