Solar power plant in North Carolina, United States of America. Approximate location 35.715, -81.15.
SolarNorth CarolinaUnited States of America
Apple Data Center PV3 is a 18 MW solar power plant in North Carolina, United States of America. It is operated by Apple Inc. Based on reported annual generation of 36 GWh, it can supply roughly 10k homes. It ranks #5026 of 10,938 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2016, it is around 10 years old — relatively modern. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, solar supplies about 8.6% of United States of America's electricity; the national grid averages 384 gCO₂/kWh (43.0% low-carbon) (2025).
Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0059474.
Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.
The capacity and/or fuel fields on this page include a source-backed provenance label from GEM, an official registry, Wikidata, OSM, or a cross-source match.
capacity: GEM tracker 2026 (location L100000811911); fuel: WRI source-record fuel
At 18 MW, Apple Data Center PV3 is well above the median solar plant in United States of America (3 MW). Solar PV converts sunlight directly into electricity with no moving parts or fuel; output varies by time of day and weather, so it pairs with storage or flexible backup.
Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.
Annual generation (GWh), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).
Operated by Apple Inc.
This solar plant converts sunlight directly into electricity with photovoltaic panels. It sits in a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 35.7°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.
Monthly mean temperature
Heating degree-days here run 23% below the median power plant in this dataset — a proxy for how much extra energy heated equipment must replace through its surfaces in winter.
Climate heat-demand index: 41/100 — this site sits in the mid third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.
Solar PV loses ~0.35%/°C above 25°C cell temperature — roughly 0.0% at warm-season highs here (estimate).
Climate normals: WorldClim 2.1 (1970–2000 monthly normals, 10 arc-min, CC BY 4.0); zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid). Degree-days & heat-demand index computed by PowerAtlas — a modelled heat-demand proxy, not a measured site figure.
For a plant’s outdoor hardware — heat-recovery steam generators (HRSG), expansion joints, valves, flanges and their insulation — the local climate sets how fast unprotected steel and coatings degrade. This site sits in a moderately corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C3 — Medium), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.
Higher environmental severity is exactly where protective removable insulation pays back most: a sheltered micro-climate slows corrosion, UV and thermal-cycling damage and extends outdoor hardware service life. This is an indicative site-climate context — not a condition assessment of any specific plant or operator.
Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.
The #447 largest solar power plant of 3283 in United States of America by capacity.
United States of America has 3283 solar power plants in this dataset, together about 38,093 MW of capacity.
Coordinates 35.715, -81.15 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
Apple Data Center PV3 is a 18 MW source-record solar power plant in North Carolina, United States of America, commissioned in 2016.
Apple Data Center PV3 generates about 36 GWh of electricity per year.
Its output is enough to supply roughly 10,314 homes.
Apple Data Center PV3 is operated by Apple Inc.
