Click the Pic Thanks a ton, Slings and Arrows
Gary Finds That Babysitting His Kids Is Like Herding Cats
Follow the Exciting Adventures of Gary the Snail!
Abolish FReepathons -- Go Monthly
If you sign up, a sponsor will donate $10
Posted on 10/29/2011 9:00:47 AM PDT by matt04
Charlotte Observer is reporting that Apple has begun work building a 174 acre solar farm to power their new Maiden, North Carolina data center. The data center, located in Catawba County, was revealed by Steve Jobs during the iOS 5 keynote at WWDC this year, and will be partly responsible for powering iCloud. It was revealed earlier this year that Apple was purchasing land around the data center. Now we know why.
Permits issued by Catawba County show that the Cupertino, Calif., company has been approved to reshape the slope of some of the 171 acres of vacant land it owns on Startown Road, opposite the data center, in preparation of building a solar farm.
(Excerpt) Read more at 9to5mac.com ...
That's no problema. They will be providing a lot of jobs for those willing to do the work Americans won't do.
What kind of natural gas power plant could they put on 174 acres?
and will be partly responsible for powering iCloud
partial is right on the money.
So, if it works even 50% of the time, they’ve saved on electricity (less their solar costs).
You better check out what 174 acres of solar panels gets you in NC. And you’re 50% number is off by 25% plus %. and those numbers are based on doing it in Death Valley.
It should take about 75 years to recoup the amount invested.
How many poor Africans could be fed by the corn, soybeans, alfalfa or dairy herds that could occupy 174 acres???
“Wonder how big a federal loan thye got”
Not sure about any loans but I am sure they got half back in tax breaks.
Even with selling back electicity, which that small plant couldn’t possibly sell back as it doesn’t feed the entire complex enough electricity as it is, solar never pays off. The price of the systems are still too high for break even points within 25 years. They simply do not generate enough electricity to cover their costs.
“The city is paying $10 million a year for 25 years as the solar farm’s sole client to Gemini Solar Development Co., the farm’s owner and operator.”
And they are paying several times more for the solar cost over normal forms of energy just to tell people they are using solar.
Apple has $82 billion in cash. They won’t need to beg the EPA or DoE for it.
But it does rain a lot in that part of the world...nothing like the Northwest, but enough. They should have built the thing in west Texas .... plenty of wind power (tons of turbines) and plenty of sun too. Only thing it lacks? People!
It’s true that Obama is first and foremost a hard left academic.
However he did get that Masters degree in “Operations” from the Chicago Mob, the folks that pretty much perfected political corruption.
Drill 1 well and split it with 5 neighbors.
I'll bet they ran the numbers. Big tax incentives to install the solar equipment. It is exactly PR. Apple being "green". When it fails to do the job, they write it off as a loss. Another way to save on their tax bills. It's not an area known for being excessively sunny. A Mojave desert location would be believable, but Apple already understands what total boneheads CA regulators can be.
What's the probability that a hurricane or tornado will come by and "rearrange" the field of solar panels before the "investment" is recouped?
Very high!
If you want on or off the Mac Ping List, Freepmail me.
Even 170 acres of solar cells won’t do the job when it’s dark. Or raining. Or cloudy.
That gives a whole new meaning to I Cloud.
No way is this cheaper than buying electricity unless Apple gloms onto all kinds of Gov't money and tax breaks to build this. AlGore can steer this Gov't cash in their direction, he is on the Apple board of directors
This is a vanity project. Apple has 80 billion in the bank, it can afford to blow a billion or two on such solar nonsense. But the PR value will be great for Apple being that it is the official computer of the naive young, hippies, lesbians, global warming scare mongers, college students, gays, urban dwellers like in NYC. The Apple store there is a Mecca for the delusional
Are there government subsidies for all this "green" stuff. If is obvious that loan guarantees are.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.