Thanks to some sleuthing by a reporter at the Charlotte Observer, we now know how Apple plans to make its massive, billion-dollar data center in Maiden, North Carolina greener.

While some vital specifics concerning the new solar farm are still shrouded in mystery, engineering plans (called Project Dolphin Solar Farm A Expanded) call for a reshaping of a slope on part of the 171 acres of land Apple owns near the facility. That’s a pretty big patch of land, but only Apple knows how much of it will be loaded up with solar panels.

There’s one clue that the solar installation will be pretty substantial, though. According to the report, the panels will be accessible via “multiple gravel roads.”

This is the latest sign that Apple’s betting big on data center efficiency. Earlier this month it was revealed that the company had hired Scott Noteboom, one of the brains behind Yahoo’s innovative, chicken coop-inspired data center in upstate New York.

Screen capture, courtesy of Bill Wagenseller

[via Slashdot]