San Francisco, Dec 31 (IANS): Apple data centre town heating plan will likely happen after a wait of almost six years, the media reported.

According to 9to5Mac, back in 2017, Apple came up with a plan to boost the environmental friendliness of its then-new Denmark-based data centre.

The idea was to harvest excess heat and use it to help warm nearby homes.

Apple announced the plan in its 2017 Environmental Responsibility Report.

"We're currently constructing a new data centre running on 100 per cent renewable energy in Denmark's central Jutland region. Due to its proximity to one of Denmark's largest electrical substations, the data centre won't require backup generators, which typically run on diesel and require periodic testing and burning of fuel," Apple was quoted as saying.

"The facility is designed to capture excess heat from its equipment and conduct it into the local district heating system to help warm homes in the community," it added.

Data centres consume a lot of energy and produce a lot of heat. The need to cool the servers and related equipment is one of the reasons for their high power consumption.

However, that plan still hasn't been implemented, but there is now a lot more interest in the face of massive increases in energy costs, and hopefully, 2023 will be the year, said the report.