New Apple data center to boost Danish economy: minister

　　COPENHAGEN, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- The anticipated new Apple data center in Denmark will significantly boost the Danish economy, said Denmark's minister for trade and development cooperation here on Monday.

　　The American computer giant Apple on Monday announced the establishment of one of the world's largest data centers in Denmark's central Jutland town of Viborg.

　　"An investment like this confirms that Denmark has managed to strike the right balance between an ambitious and climate-friendly energy policy and a world-class business environment," trade and development minister Mogens Jensen said in a statement.

　　Apple said the new data center would be powered exclusively by renewable energy, and surplus heating would be recycled back into the local district's heating system, thereby minimizing negative environmental impact.

　　According to Jensen, Denmark's green energy policy and strong cleantech cluster have played important roles in the investment decision.

　　"Not only does this investment confirm Denmark's position as a world leader within green solutions and renewable energy technology, the investment also underlines that we are indeed a very investment-friendly country offering attractive business opportunities for innovative global companies," he said.

　　Apart from the data center in Viborg, Apple also has plans to build a similar data center in County Galway, Ireland.

　　The two data centers, whose investment totals 1.7 billion euros (about 1.9 billion U.S. dollars) and each measures 166,000 square metres, are expected to begin operations in 2017, Apple said.