Earlier rumors that Apple’s already massive Catawba County, North Carolina data center, said to encompass 500,000 square feet, are getting fresh legs, according to the Data Center Knowledge blog. Local realtor Bill Wagenseller took the above video from a small plane circling above the facility, which is expected to begin operations any day.

“Though there has been no official announcement, I discovered that site work is being performed and it clearly appears that there may be some truth to the speculation,” Wagenseller wrote in his video description.

See also: Apple paid $1.7m for data center land

Thereupon, quite a bit of additional ground has been cleared on adjacent parcels, which could be visual confirmation of rumors that Apple plans to double the size of its facility. Although it doesn’t appear that the area is the same size as the first set of buildings, it could be that the mothership included overbuilt cooling, water, power, etc. facilities in the existing data center to accommodate for a larger campus.

Moreover, there’s additional speculation that Apple is also planning a solar farm on a 480-acre parcel nearby.

Perhaps this is one of the surprises Steve Jobs alluded to last week…

What’s your take?