Apple wants to build cloud data center near Reno

Apple's data center in Maiden, N.C.

(Credit: Apple)

Apple is planning to open a data center in northern Nevada as part of the company's plan to spend $1 billion in northern Nevada over the next 10 years, according to the Reno Gazette Journal.

Local governments are looking at the deal today and tomorrow. State officials will also need to approve the tax breaks, but construction is expected to start as early as August. The new facilities -- which come with $87 million in tax breaks spread over the next decade from city, county and state governments -- include a business and purchasing center in downtown Reno and a data center for Apple's cloud computing services east of Sparks.

Nevada Office on Economic Development Director Steve Hill told the Journal that Apple chose Reno because the company wants to diversify its locations and because Reno is closer to Apple's headquarters than the company's planned data center in Oregon. Reno is about a four-hour drive from Cupertino. Apple also has a computing center in Maiden, N.C., which is expected to run entirely off renewable energy by the end of th... [Read more]