Go big or go home —

Apple breaks ground on mammoth Oregon data center

When finished, it may overshadow Apple's existing North Carolina facility.

Apple has begun the first phase of construction of its planned data center in Prineville, Oregon, which could eventually dwarf its already massive Maiden, North Carolina data center that powers iCloud. According to The Oregonian, construction workers are clearing and flattening land for the first of two 338,000 sq ft buildings, with more buildings slated for "future development." Apple's existing Maiden data center is 500,000 sq ft, a size considered "big-ass" by one data center expert.

Apple was rumored to be looking at Prineville for an additional data center location last December, and the company confirmed its plans in February. Beyond a promise to power the data center with 100 percent renewable energy, Apple hasn't offered any additional details about its plans. However, planning documents filed in Crook County, Oregon reveal that Apple is building two 338,000 sq ft buildings capable of housing at least 16 "data halls."

Just two of these data halls will be constructed during the first $68 million phase of construction, likely to replace the 10,000 sq ft temporary data center Apple is currently operating on the site. The Oregonian suggests that the final price tag could come in at well over the $1 billion Apple spent in Maiden once construction is complete and all its data halls are stuffed with servers.

The Prineville area has become a magnet for large enterprise data centers recently, thanks to lower average weather temperatures and plentiful, low-cost renewable energy. Facebook has a large data center "across the highway" from Apple's location, and Amazon, Adobe, and Google are building or operating data centers nearby.

The Pacific Northwest region isn't known for an abundance of sunshine like the Southeast, so a massive solar array like the one Apple built in Maiden wouldn't be of much use. Instead, Apple plans to power its Prineville data center largely from hydroelectric power, supplemented with local wind and geothermal sources.

Channel Ars Technica