AZ not CA nabs giant new Apple center

02 Feb, 2015 by John Seiler

As noted in my article today, “CA tech juggernaut jumps above rest of state,” the Silicon Valley wizards are doing well — even as manufacturing jobs have been halved since 1990.

This is emphasized by a new development: Apple is building a giant new “command center” not in California, but Arizona. Reported CNBC:

Apple will invest $2 billion to build up a data center in Mesa, Arizona, the company announced Monday.

The new facility—which will serve as a command center for the company’s global networks—is expected to employ 150 full-time Apple employees and will hire 300 to 500 construction and trade jobs, according to a news release from Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey. The tech giant said it would be one of the largest investments it has ever made.

Apple has pledged to completely power the facility with renewable energy, building out solar projects in the process.

All that solar power could have helped California with its renewable projects as mandated by AB 32 and other California environmental laws.

Yet complying with those laws also is expensive, something lawmakers never seem to take into account. Make one mistake in compliance and you’re hit with massive fines.

Then there’s California’s massive tax extractions, something much less in Arizona. The cost of living for Apple’s workers also will be less. The median price for a home in Mesa is about $180,000, according to Zillow.com. In Fremont, the last place Apple had a factory in California before it closed in 1993, it’s $754,000 — more than four times as much.