Apple turning failed sapphire factory into data centre
Apple is reportedly spending $2 billion to turn the site of one of its biggest recent failures into a massive data centre.
Last year Apple’s partner GT Advanced filed for bankruptcy after it failed to establish a reliable production line of sapphire glass for the tech giant.
Apple had provided facilities for the operation, as well as lending the company $439 million to get set up.
Of course, with recent news outlining just how cash rich Apple is these days, such a loss really isn’t as sizeable as it seems.
Indeed, according to a new Bloomberg report, Apple has decided to plough a further $2 billion into the abandoned sapphire glass facility in order to turn it into a vast data centre.
The 1.3 million-square-foot former solar panel factory, which is located in Mesa, Arizona, will eventually be turned into “a new data center in Arizona, which will serve as a command center for our global networks,” according to Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet. “This multibillion-dollar project is one of the largest investments we’ve ever made.”
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Apparently, the new site will be powered by 100 percent natural energy, including a new solar farm.
Plans to move ahead with this data centre project must be put on hold for the best part of a year, however. According to the settlement deal agreed between Apple and GT Advanced, the latter can continue using the Mesa facility until December 2015.