(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Apple (www.apple.com) is reportedly planning to build a new US data center that could cost upwards of $1 billion, which is nearly double the amount that Microsoft and Google typically spend on building large data centers that power their cloud computing platforms.
Though it is no surprise that the company must keep up with the rapid growth of iTunes, iPhone App Store, and other online services, the significant investment has many wondering what kinds of services the company intends on housing at the new data center.
According to the Associated Press, which cites an anonymous official and a leaked memo, the North Carolina government is hoping to convince Apple to build the data center in the state by offering a tax break of $46 million over the next decade.
Only companies that have a large share of their US property and payroll taxes in the state and a small share of US sales would be eligable for such a tax break.
In fact, the memo specifies that not a single existing company meets this criteria today, while the North Carolina Commerce Department says it knows of just one that would potentially qualify.
In order for Apple to quality for the tax break, the company would have to complete its $1 billion investment within nine years.
The company would also have to build its data center in one of the state’s poorest counties, where it would provide local workers with health insurance and certain wages.
This is not the first time that the North Carolina government has offered tax breaks to a company for a data center build.
In early 2007, the state offered Google about $100 million in tax incentives over 30 years if it would spend invest $600 million in constructing a data center in the small town of Lenoir.
The planned data center would easily be the company’s largest data center. In 2006, Apple acquired a 107,000 square-foot data center in Newark for an estimated price of between $45 million and $50 million.
The company also operates a data center on its Cupertino, California campus, as well as used content delivery networks from Akamai and Limelight Networks.
