Apple’s concept plan for the first of its two data centers in Waukee, Iowa.
Apple has applied to the city of Waukee in the US state of Iowa, just west of Des Moines, to convert part of the land around its iCloud data center back into a freshwater marsh, also known as a “prairie mud hole”.
The company originally purchased over 2,000 acres of land there in 2017 with the intention of building a data center there by 2020. In 2022, it finally began construction on the first of two planned data centers.
Apple is reserving about 592 acres of the land for future data centers and storage facilities, as well as water management. In the meantime, Apple wants to convert some of the excess land into a wetland and create walking trails for the public for a possible nature trail or park.
Apple intends to restore a wetland on a portion of the land it will not use for future data centers and similar facilities. The affected area will be approximately 220 acres.
In 2021, the company committed to spending around $430 billion over the next five years on various development projects in the United States. The projects included a campus in North Carolina, as well as data centers in Iowa and facilities in Texas and California.
According to a Waukee City Council report, the project includes repairing and rerouting field tiles to better drain stormwater from adjacent fields. In addition to repairing the field tiles, Apple will have to install sewer and water lines throughout the site.
City Council staff recommended the plan. Apple will go before the City Council on August 13, 2024, to seek formal approval for the project.
While Apple’s future data center expansion plans in Waukee are unlikely to face opposition, there have been occasional protests over the high electricity and water demands of technology companies for their data centers. Apple’s plans for a data center in Athenry, Ireland, have led to some public complaints about environmental safeguards, and a court case on the matter is ongoing.
