In a significant move that underscores the global shift toward sustainable technology, Apple Inc. has announced plans to invest nearly $2 billion in the construction of new data centres in Ireland and Denmark. Presumably to house operations for popular Apple services such as iTunes and Maps, these state-of-the-art facilities are expected to initiate operations by 2017.
Aligning itself with the urgent call for tech firms to adopt eco-friendly practices, Apple makes an emphatic statement by powering these impressive new data centres with renewable energy. In both strategy and location, this choice goes hand in hand with the renowned environmental ethos of both Ireland and Denmark and their commitment to harnessing renewable energy sources, particularly wind.
According to a report from Bloomberg news, this substantial investment serves to accommodate European demands for locally stored data while utilizing the advantage of northern Europe’s colder climate, realizing substantial savings in equipment-cooling costs. Other tech giants, including Google Inc. and Facebook Inc., have preceded Apple in this trend, having opened data centres in Finland and Sweden, respectively.
While Ireland already plays host to data centres from a wide range of tech giants, the construction of these new facilities underscores a growing trend among tech companies. The Irish and Danish centres, each occupying a land of 166,000 square meters (1.8 million square feet), stand to be among the world’s largest.
Though the tech industry is known for its rapid pace of change, Apple’s significant investment in European data centres marks a strategic and potentially long-lasting commitment to local data storage, renewable energy, and overall operational efficiency. As technology continues to evolve, it remains a key focus for companies to sustainably meet the demand for an ever-increasing volume and speed of data.
This article was updated in 2025 to reflect modern realities.
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