Apple has begun construction on its Prineville, Oregon data center. The company purchased 160 acres of land in February for US$5.6 million for such a facility. The first phase of construction will be for a 338,000 square-foot building that could be the first of two at the location.
Apple in Oregon
This will be the second large-scale data center for Apple, with a third one planned for Hong Kong. The first data center is already up, running, and expanding in Maiden, North Carolina. While no one knows for certain what data these centers are used for, it is believed that they support Apple's iCloud and Siri services.
When complete it is thought that the cost of the facility will have run into the billions of dollars and employ dozens of people. Plans filed with local governments indicate that the first building will contain two "data halls." A future, second building is expected to hold an additional 14 data halls.
With Apple's usual veil of secrecy, there is no date for when the facility might be completed and open. The Oregonian even reported that workers at the site are not saying who their employer is even though they are sporting jackets with the Apple logo.
Prineville has become a hotspot for data centers, housing facilities for Google, Adobe, Amazon, and Facebook in the area. With so many data centers in the area, power consumption has been a concern. Apple has pledged to power its facility entirely by renewable energy purchased from local sources. It has made a similar pledge for its Maiden, North Carolina facility with several large-scale projects to that end.