Apple spending $2B to build two new European data centers

Apple today announced it would spend $1.93 billion on two new data centers in Ireland and Denmark, which, the company also said, would be powered by renewable energy.

“We are grateful for Apple’s continued success in Europe and proud that our investment supports communities across the continent,” said Apple chief executive Tim Cook in a press release. “This significant new investment represents Apple’s biggest project in Europe to date. We’re thrilled to be expanding our operations, creating hundreds of local jobs and introducing some of our most advanced green building designs yet.”

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The data center expansion is part of the growing infrastructure Apple needs to support its online services, including iTunes, iMessage, Maps, and Siri.

The announcement also comes as Apple remains under fire from European Union regulators for tax breaks it has received from the Irish government over the past decade. Regulators are still probing those breaks, but have made a preliminary finding that they are likely in violation of European rules. If that finding becomes final, Apple could be on the hook to pay billions of dollars in back taxes.

In the press release today, Apple sought to play up its economic impact on the region, emphasizing that the company “supports nearly 672,000 European jobs, including 530,000 jobs directly related to the development of iOS apps. Since the App Store’s debut in 2008, developers across Europe have earned more than €6.6 billion ($7.48 billion) through the worldwide sale of apps.”

In addition, Apple says it employs 18,300 people in 19 European countries, and added more than 2,000 jobs in the last 12 months. In 2014, Apple said it spent more than €7.8 billion ($8.84 billion) with European companies and suppliers.

The two data centers will each be 166,000 square meters and are slated to begin operating in 2017. They will be located in Athenry, Ireland and Viborg, Denmark.