The city of Claremont, NC has agreed to annex the land necessary for Apple to build a third solar farm near its data center in Maiden, the Hickory Daily Record reported (via MacRumors). Apple will make an initial investment of $55 million and indirectly create 75 jobs while constructing the 17.5-megawatt farm, which will be located at 3123 Kelly Blvd.
The farm won’t actually be located at the Maiden data center—or even in the city of Maiden, for that matter—though it will still be located in the same county as the other property.
Apple also agreed to a land trade with the city. The Cupertino company will turn two tracts of land that it currently owns over to the city, and in exchange will receive 1.5 acres of land, including the former South Waste Water Treatment Plant, which has remained dormant since the early 90s.
It’s not yet known what Apple plans to do with the traded property, or what exactly the new solar farm will power, but it clearly has some idea of what to do with both properties. According to the Hickory Daily Record, the company says it will submit a grading report for the farm by the end of the year, with the project scheduled for completion five years after it begins.
