Apple’s £1.3bn Data Centre Investment Is One Of Its Biggest Ever

Apple is planning to spend £1.3 billion converting a sapphire glass factory in Arizona into a data centre, a project which is one the company’s biggest ever investments.

The plant originally belonged to GT Advanced Technologies Inc, and was set up in 2013 with help from Apple as the facility was set to produce the sapphire glass screens that iPhones and iPads use.

Renewable energy pledge

But GT Advanced went bankrupt in October 2014 when Apple decided not to use sapphire glass in its latest iterations of Apple devices, a move which GT Advance said was a bait and switch.

“This multibillion-dollar project is one of the largest investments we’ve ever made,” said Apple spokesperson Rachel Wolf

The site will reportedly operate exclusively on renewable energy, with the £1.33 billion ($2 billion) cash flow spanning over ten years, including a 30 year commitment to keep the facility running.

Apple said that the facility will be a ‘command centre’ for managing other company data centres and networks. It will be powered by solar energy and will create around 600 construction jobs.

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