Apple has gotten the green light to add to its fuel cell installation at the company’s Maiden, North Carolina, data center campus, reports the "Hickory Record" (http://macte.ch/fnIEj).

According to files with the North Carolina Utilities Commission, the commission issued an order accepting the registration of the addition to Apple’s fuel cell, taking it from 4.8 megawatts to 10 megawatts. The commission approved Apple’s 4.8 megawatt fuel cell in May. The order accepts Apple’s registration of the 10 megawatt fuel cell as a renewable energy facility.

The electricity created by the fuel cell will be sold to Duke Energy, says the "Hickory Record." The fuel cell will use bio-gas from Element Markets Renewable Energy to generate the electricity, the order says. The bio-gas will come from methane created at landfill.

Last year it was announced that Apple would build a data center in Catawba County on the outskirts of Maiden. Maiden and Catawba County agreed to US$7.3 million in incentives for Apple in order for them to build the center there. The company will build a 500,000-square-foot facility along U.S. Highway 321.