Apple building big solar energy farm near Cholame

Apple will spend $850 million on a massive solar energy project in southeastern Monterey County that will generate enough power for the computer giant's new office campus, retail stores and its other California operations.

The new California Flats Solar Project will be located on 2,900 acres of Hearst Corp.’s Jack Ranch that was previously used for dryland farming.

The facility is located north of the Cholame Y along Turkey Flat Road but will not be visible from Highway 41.

Arizona-based First Solar Inc. is building the facility and will sell additional energy from the farm to utility Pacific Gas & Electric. The project is First Solar’s second in the region, joining the 550-megawatt Topaz Solar Farm built on the Carrizo Plain in eastern San Luis Obispo County. That project began producing energy early last year.

Construction on the California Flats Solar Project is expected to begin in mid-2015 and be completed by the end of 2016. It is expected to generate 500 jobs over the course of its construction.

Apple will be the biggest single consumer of energy from the new solar farm. Apple CEO Tim Cook, announcing the project at a conference Tuesday in San Francisco, said Apple is concerned about the threat of climate change. He noted that the company's computer centers already are powered by various forms of renewable energy.

This story was originally published February 10, 2015 at 4:35 PM.