Apple is Working With an American Company on Its New Solar Farm?

Apple is reportedly working with Leaf Solar Power, an American company, on a large solar farm in North Carolina, according to AppleInsider.

Leaf Solar Power, a renewable energy company based out of Lake Worth, Fla., is working with Apple on a new solar farm that will power its $1 billion data center, according to a person familiar with the ongoing project. Leaf Solar's involvement in Apple's North Carolina solar farm may be the the company's largest and most lucrative partnership yet, as Leaf's official LinkedIn page notes that it specializes in residential and "small" commercial projects in South Florida.

Last month, CharlotteObserver reported that permits issued by Catawba County show that Apple had been approved to reshape the slope of some of the 171 acres of vacant land it owns on Startown Road, opposite the data center, in preparation of building a solar farm.


AppleInsider notes that while the extent of Leaf Solar Power's involvement in the project is unknown, it is significant that Apple has chosen to work with an American company.

China's dominance in the solar panel market has become such an issue that earlier this year, U.S. President Barack Obama signed a law with a "Buy American" provision for the purchase of solar panels by the Defense Department.

More information is expected to surface once Apple formally applies for a building permit.

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