Over a year after announcing plans to build a new data center in County Galway, Ireland, Apple has finally received approval from Irish authorities to begin construction on the new facility. Apple has been granted permission to build only a single data center for now, but the company reportedly plans to build as many as eight facilities on the site over the next decade or so, although the company will have to reapply for planning permission to expand beyond the single one. The project is part of a plan by Apple to bring 1,000 new jobs to Ireland, and will be used to support Apple’s online services such as the iTunes Store, the App Store, iMessage, Maps and Siri for European customers. The data center will be constructed in a forest just outside the small town of Athenry, and Apple notes that it will be powered completely by renewable energy and build on land that a state forestry company used to grow and harvest non-native trees; Apple promises to restore native trees to the forest and create a new outdoor education space for local schools as part of the project. [via Business Insider]
