Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) has announced that it will invest roughly $2 billion to convert the former GT Advanced Technologies’ sapphire glass plant in Mesa, Ariz., to a large data center. Apple’s current core data center is located in North Carolina, but with increased demand for iTunes, iCloud, Siri and other cloud-based services, the server capacity needs to grow.

The facility had been owned by Apple the entire time of the partnership, through the GT bankruptcy, and it was under a lease-agreement for that time.

GT had originally entered into an agreement with Apple to produce the sapphire glass for the new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus series. The plant was set up in 2013. However, the company was not able to produce enough sapphire to meet Apple’s demands, which resulted in GT filing for bankruptcy last October.

It is worth noting that the planned $2 billion investment is one of the largest investments that Apple has ever made. Just this past year, Apple acquired Beats Electronic to the tune of $3 billion.

The tech giant is calling this new data center its “command center for global networks.”

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Apple has offered to help find jobs for those that were affected when the factory initially closed.

This new facility is expected to employ 150-full time Apple employees, as well as adding around 500 construction jobs. In terms of energy, the new facility will be exclusively powered by renewable energy sources. The expected power consumption from the proposed center is 70 MW, or roughly equal to 14,500 homes.

Apple said in a statement:

This multibillion-dollar project is one of the largest investments we’ve ever made, and when completed it will add over 600 engineering and construction jobs to the more than 1 million jobs Apple has already created in the U.S. Like all Apple data centers, it will be powered by 100% renewable energy, much of which will come from a new local solar farm.

Many media reports had Apple being very aggressive in the GT bankruptcy. Our view at the time was that Apple wanted to shield its business practices from being better understood, but maybe they just wanted the facility.

Shares of Apple were down fractionally at $118.21 in late Tuesday morning trading. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $129.53 and a 52-week trading range of $71.82 to $120.00.

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