Apple revealed additional details Monday about its massive data center located in Maiden, North Carolina.

The 500,000 square foot facility, costing a reported $1 billion, hosts data for Apple's iCloud and Siri services. 

Having already obtained LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum certification, the report from Apple includes plans to go greener by building what it calls "the nation’s largest end user–owned, onsite solar array" and the "largest non-utility fuel cell installation."

Apple said today that its recently completed data center in Maiden will be one of three centers used to offer its new cloud service.

The service, called iCloud, will allow users to store the content on their Apple devices remotely and wirelessly access it from anywhere on multiple devices.

The Maiden facility, about 40 miles northwest of Charlotte in Catawba County, was specifically built to handle the data storage demands that are expected to be created by iCloud.

The service will be available this fall for free.

Any music purchased through Apple's iTunes service will be accessible through iCloud.

Apple also plans to offer an iTunes Match service for $24.99 a year that will allow user's to access other songs in their iTunes library from the cloud.

Apple's $1B data center in Maiden, N.C. may play an important role in Apple's push into voice recognition services.

A TechCrunch report on negotiations between Apple and voice technology company Nuance suggests the 500,000 square feet facility in Maiden may become Apple's center for yet to be voice recognition revealed services.

Previous reports peg the data center to start operation this spring hosting iTunes and revamped MobileMe services in addition to Apple's corporate systems.

The North Carolina facility, Apple's second data center, has many pundits convinced Apple is launching a streaming music service. Apple has reportedly been making deals with music companies to lay the groundwork.

With the launch of iOS 5 for Apple's mobile devices, much of the mystery in Maiden is expected to be revealed at the WWDC next month.

Apple said at its shareholders meeting today that it will use its new $1 billion data center in Maiden, N.C. to support the company's iTunes and MobileMe services, according to a report on the website AppleInsider.

Apple first announced plans in 2009 to build a data center in Maiden, about 40 miles northwest of Charlotte.

There has been wide speculation that the facility could be used to support a cloud-based version of iTunes.

Cloud computing is where a company stores data itself and allows customers to access it remotely from anywhere via the Internet.

Apple also said at its shareholder meeting that the Maiden facility will be the company's second data center after one located in Newark, Calif., according to AppleInsider's report.

To read AppleInsider's report go here.

Apple is considering doubling the size of its already massive data center being built in western North Carolina, according to a report today in the Wall Street Journal.

Apple's $1 billion data center in Maiden, about 40 miles northwest of Charlotte, will include 500,000 square feet of space. It's expected to employ 50 people.

The report on the Journal's All Things Digital blog notes that Apple may be considering using the facility to offer so-called "cloud services" for iTunes and other products.

That would mean iTunes libraries would be streamed to users and could be accessed from anywhere.
 

Apple may be getting close to opening its $1 billion data center near Charlotte.

The computing and electronics giant posted job openings this week on its web site for the facility in Maiden, about 40 miles northwest of Charlotte.

Apple picked the town of about 3,500 residents in Catawba County last July to build its data center, scheduled for completion sometime this year.

The company said it would hire 50 full-time employees there. Apple's web site shows 11 openings in Maiden, two in Charlotte and one in Hickory

In Maiden, Apple is looking to hire engineers, technicians and supervisors.

This news stinks for California, but it's sweet for North Carolina.

Unilever announced late Thursday that it will close a manufacturing plant outside Los Angeles, and shift production to facilities in Raeford, N.C., and Jefferson City, Mo. The factories make anti-perspirants and deodorants for Unilever brands such as Axe, Dove, Degree and Suave.

The factory closure in California will cost 61 employees their jobs. As production is shifted next year, it has not yet been determined if it will mean additional jobs at the other facilities, said Unilever spokesman Dean Mastrojohn.

But additional production might mean more job security at the Raeford plant, which opened in 1968 and now employs about 280 people. That plant, with two buildings totaling about 550,000 square feet, is located about 90 miles southeast of Raleigh. It also makes shampoos under Unilever brands.