Poornima Gupta for Reuters:

Apple Inc plans to power its main U.S. data center entirely with renewable energy by the end of this year, taking steps to address longstanding environmental concerns about the rapid expansion of high-consuming computer server farms.

Apple has been the subject of protests by Greenpeace for using so-called “dirty” energy – power generated by the burning of coal – rather than through the use of renewable resources such as wind or solar.

The company said it’s buying equipment to power two solar farms to be built near its Maiden, NC data center. Once they’re operational they’ll generate 84 million kWh annually, according to the report. A small “bio-gas fuel-cell plant” will also be constructed.

Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer told Reuters the company’s goal is to make all three of its data centers coal-free. He added that he’s unaware of any company working on onsite energy generation at Apple’s scale.

Of course, Greenpeace wants more.

“… Apple must adopt a firm siting policy to prioritize renewable energy when it chooses locations for new data centers. Only then will customers have confidence that the iCloud will continue to get cleaner as it grows,” said Greenpeace International Senior IT Analyst Gary Cook.