Continued commercial success for California-based tech giant Apple Inc. has necessitated the expansion-- and modernization-- of their operations. In addition to an expansion of a preexisting data center in Reno, Nevada, Apple has announced its plans to construct a 200 megawatt (MW) solar array to power the center's activities. The upcoming project marks the company's largest energy project to date, and is projected to unveil in early 2019.

Continued commercial success for California-based tech giant Apple Inc. has necessitated the expansion-- and modernization-- of their operations.

In addition to an expansion of a preexisting data center in Reno, Nevada, Apple has announced its plans to construct a 200 megawatt (MW) solar array to power the center's activities. The upcoming project marks the company's largest energy project to date and is projected to unveil in early 2019.

This isn't their first foray into cleaning up their business practices. Apple's data centers in North Carolina are powered entirely by renewable energy, derived from solar and biofuel sources, and its administration doesn't shy from acting on their word-- in 2015, $848 million was invested in a solar farm serving the Cupertino headquarters.

In 2015, corporate spokespeople revealed that all American facilities-- including data centers, office buildings, and retail stores-- were running on clean power. Given that on-site energy generation may not be feasible in all locations, Apple has procured green power through third-party utilities.

Domestic and international manufacturing accounts for a majority of the corporation's energy use, and have become a primary target for Apple's energy-efficiency efforts. Operations in Singapore are being bolstered with 32 megawatts (MW) of solar power from on-site rooftop solar. In China, 170 MW of solar energy is funneled into production operations.

As of last fall, Apple is a member of RE100, a coalition of businesses and organizations working proactively towards a green energy revolution. These and many more similar recent aggressive efforts on behalf of Apple have pushed the technology company ahead of Walmart in the great race for large industries to adopt clean power.

"Investing in innovative clean energy sources is vital to Apple's commitment to reaching and maintaining 100% renewable energy across all our operations," Vice President for Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives Lisa Jackson explained. "Our partnership with NV Energy helps assure our customers their iMessages, FaceTime video chats and Siri inquiries are powered by clean energy, and supports efforts to offer the choice of green energy to Nevada residents and businesses."