Update 05/09/2017: Reno city official’s were able to confirm to 9to5Mac, the parcel of land up for Apple’s purchase. Image in post has been updated.
Reno City Council is set to discuss Apple potentially purchasing a half-city block of land for a new facility, according to KRNV. If accepted, this would follow Apple’s decisions in building out a $50 million data center in Reno.
Apple is set to further build upon its data center in Reno, Nevada according to a report out of the Reno Gazette-Journal. Apple has been building upon its Reno data center for a while now, but the company has recently filed a permit with the county requesting permission to construct a new data center adjacent to the existing one.
According to a new report from GigaOM, Apple is planning to build a new solar panel farm in Reno, Nevada in conjunction with NV Energy. Reno is also where Apple’s latest data center is located. The company already has two similar-sized solar farms in North Carolina to power its data center there, but this is the company’s first in Nevada.
The solar farm, dubbed “Ft. Churchill Solar Array,” will be able to proved between 18 to 20 MW in power, which is about the same as its plants in North Carolina, which both put out 20 MW in size. With this solar farm, however, Apple will be utilizing a new technology that includes both solar panels and mirrors that focus the sun’s rays up to seven times onto the panels.
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According to the AP, the Economic Development Board of Nevada approved a deal negotiated by the state to lure Apple Inc. to Reno with $89 million in tax breaks. Apple plans to build a 350-acre data center east of nearby Sparks. It will employ up to 200 contract workers and 35+ full-time workers with an hourly wage of $25. Apple will also build a purchasing and business center in a blighted area near downtown Reno.
Analysts estimate the projects will bring about $340 million in economic activity to the area over the next decade.
Washoe County and the city of Reno agreed to their share of the tax abatements in June. In Washoe County, Apple will get an 85 percent break on its personal property taxes, while Reno pledged 75 percent of its share of sales taxes to the company for a downtown business center.
In exchange for the tax breaks, Apple pledged to invest $1 billion in the region over 10 years. The agreement contains options to extend the abatements for two, 10-year periods provided the company meets certain benchmarks for continued investment in the region.
Apple is aggressively growing out its U.S. data center capacity, doubling up its relatively new data center and 20MW solar farm in North Carolina, as well as building another new center in Prineville, Ore.
Apple also uses its Reno office as a national tax haven.
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It looks like Apple may actually use Reno Nevada for something more than a Tax haven.
According to several local reports, Apple is currently considering building a new data center in Nevada. KRNV & MyNews4.com reported today that Apple representatives attended a Washoe County Commission meeting to discuss plans to invest $1 billion over 10 years and build a new data center at the Reno Technology Park:
News 4’s Ben Briscoe is at the Washoe County Commission meeting, where Officials from Apple are speaking to commissioners… Mary-Sarah Kinner, the Press Secretary for the Governor’s Office confirms to News 4 the Governor’s Office of Economic Development is involved in the deal to bring Apple to Northern Nevada.
The report claimed Apple said it plans to begin construction in August and hopes to finish by the end of 2012. Although the Governor’s Office apparently estimated the project would result in over 300 jobs and 500 construction jobs, the Washoe County School Board and the Reno City Council still have to sign off on the deal. Mynews4.com reported the City of Reno is expected to make a decision at tomorrow’s council meeting. Apple already operates its own data centers in Maiden, N.C., and it recently announced plans to expand at the location and on 160 acres of land it purchased in Prineville, Ore.
