Apple confirms 'green' data centre plans

Apple has confirmed that it bought 160 acres near Prineville, in central Oregon, for a new data centre, making it the latest tech giant to locate a server farm in the state, Oregan Live reports.

Crook County commissioners signed the $5.6 million deal on 15 February, said county judge Mike McCabe, who chairs the commission.

"We purchased the land and it's for a data centre,” Apple Insider quotes Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet as saying.

She added that the facility will be 'green'.

Earlier this week, the company revealed in a Facilities Environmental Report that its massive server farm in North Carolina will utilise the largest end-user-owned onsite solar array and the largest non-utility fuel cell installation in the US, making it the only facility in its class to earn LEED Platinum certification.

According to Data Center Knowledge, the central Oregon climate allows data centres to take advantage of 'free cooling', the practice of using cool outside temperatures to support the cooling systems.

This approach allows data centres to use outside air to either cool water or provide direct air cooling for servers. Either approach allows companies to reduce their use of refrigeration systems, which use a large amount of energy.