Apple Inc.
(NASDAQ:AAPL) has taken the decision of more than doubling the size of its fuel
cell project that is located at its data centre in North Carolina. This would
make it the largest of its kind that is not owned by a utility. eBay was
possessing the honor for some time.
The
Charlotte Observer was the first one to report this news. Bloom
Energy, the fuel cell provider is installing 50 bloom boxes at the location in
Maiden city that will generate 10 MW of electricity. Apple had been initially
generating a 4.8 MW fuel cell project at this location.
The 4.8 MW portion of
the location has been up and under experimentation since October, as per Apple
and the company is expecting the entire 10 MW to be installed and on the
internet by January of 2013. Apple has filed to increase the size of the
project the previous month. However, filings about the price of the project
were kept under the wraps.
When completed, Apple’s
fuel cell farm will be the largest in the crowd that is not possessed by a
utility. eBay is also involved in building a large fuel cell farm for a data
centre. With Apple doubling the project, it has now taken the lead.
A few interesting facts
about the project has come to light through the latest filings. Apple is
planning to sell the power from the fuel cells to Duke Energy. This implies
that Apple would not necessarily be using the fuel cell energy onsite to
control the data centre. The fuel cells will implement biogas. Apple would be
able to bring in money by selling the power and related Renewable Energy
Credits to Duke. It is not yet clear whether Apple will be selling the power
from its solar farm to Duke Energy.
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