Back in June 2011 at the company’s annual Worldwide Developer Conference, Steve Jobs gave the world a peak at the Apple’s Maiden, North Carolina iCloud data center plans — a massive $1-billion-plus facility that will eventually be powered 100 percent by green energy. Now, more than a year later, a 100-plus-acre piece, the Apple solar farm, of that master plan is nearly complete.

When this photo was taken in March 2012, shortly after final construction permits had been issued, contractors had cleared the more than 100 acre site for the Apple solar farm.

An April 2012 overview of Apple’s planned Project Dolphin green energy facilities: 1.) iCloud data center and server farm, 2.) Believed to be the site of Apple’s 4.8 megawatt bio-gas fuel cell power plant and 3.) 20 megawatt solar installation covering more than 100 acres.

Apple’s Bloom Energy supplied fuel-cell power plant is expected to come online before year’s end.

View of the Apple solar farm construction in June 2012.

A recently captured aerial photo of the nearly completed 20 megawatt Apple solar farm that sprawls across more than 100 acres.

When the entire solar + fuel cell green energy facility is completed later this year, Apple says that it will be among the world’s largest privately owned, non-utility power plants and it will be able to fully power the company’s Maiden, North Carolina iCloud data center.

And, “boom,” Apple is a world leader in green energy…

What’s your take?

Compiled from Fairer Platform, Hickory Daily Record, WNCN reports

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