Facebook made its decision to go to Prineville, OR for a variety of reasons, but made the mistake of choosing electricity from a coal plant as the power source. And, became a target for Greenpeace. One of the last thing a data center operator wants to be is a target for a bunch of Greenpeace activist.
Apple has confirmed it has chosen Prineville, OR as the location its next data center. Oregon's KTVZ has the news.
Apple Confirms Prineville Data Center Plans
One Day Later, Ore. House Approves Tax Break Fix
POSTED: 4:10 pm PST February 21, 2012 UPDATED: 2:26 pm PST February 22, 2012PRINEVILLE, Ore. -- Tech giant Apple Inc. confirmed Tuesday to NewsChannel 21 that it plans to build a data center at a 160-acre parcel in Prineville it just bought from Crook County for $5.6 million, a stone’s throw from the huge facility built by Facebook.
A statutory warranty deed for the property off Baldwin Court was filed last week with the Crook County clerk’s office, a public document finally breaking the official silence over a long-term courtship with a company formerly known only as “Project Maverick.”
After a leak in December, the officials must have been reminded of their NDA, and how opening their mouths can jeopardize the deal.
No one in Prineville or elsewhere had been able to speak on the record about the deal previously, due to non-disclosure agreements the company has had officials sign. But the Feb. 15 filing is the first public document to identify Apple Inc. as the “Project Maverick” buyer, complete with the “1 Infinite Loop” address in Cupertino, Calif.
The cat started escaping from the bag in December, when The Oregonian quoted “two people with direct knowledge” who said Apple was nearing a decision on the project.
The local judge was even NDA restricted, but now that there is a public disclosure he can say a few things.
Crook County Judge Mike McCabe said Tuesday he was still bound by the non-disclosure agreement, though the filing left him a bit freer to talk.
"We just don't know what their plans are," McCabe said, adding that he's "confident it will be good for Prineville and Crook County."
"These folks have been wonderful to work with," he said. "We will look forward to a long-term relationship with them."Asked about whether Apple might plan to "out-green" Facebook, which got some flack from Greenpeace for buying coal-generated power for its Prineville data center, McCabe said that actually, "Facebook kind of helped recruit (Apple), saying, 'You've got to come up and look at this community.'"
