Apple has announced that it will spend nearly $2 billion to develop two new 100% renewable energy data centers in Europe, to be located in Athenry, Ireland, and Viborg, Denmark. Both locations will have the ‘lowest environmental impact’ of its data centers. They are expected to come online in 2017 and will each measure 166,000 m2 (1.79 million ft2). The Ireland data center will be built on land that had been used for commercial forestry. There, the company will conduct a project to restore native trees, and will build an outdoor education space. In Denmark, the data center will be built next to one of Denmark’s largest electrical substations. That will eliminate the need to build additional generators. Also, it will use heat generated from its facility to provide heat to local homes. (Source: The HVAC&R Industry, March 12, 2015)