Facebook and New Mexico Governor has officially announced on Wednesday, september 14,2016 that social media giant plans to open the next data center in Los Lunas, New Mexico. A statement from Facebook said that they plan to start construction of 510,000 sq-foot center as early as next month and the facility should be online in 2018.
When the Los Lunas facility opens, it will join other data centers that Facebook has opened over the years, including Clonee, Ireland (which should open by late 2017 or early 2018); Fort Worth, Texas; Altoona, Iowa; Forest City, North Carolina; Lulea, Sweden; and the original site in Prineville, Oregon. Los Lunas data center will be seventh data center globally and fifth in US
Ken Patchett, Facebook's director of data center operations in the western region, wrote in a post that the Los Lunas facility will be "one of the most advanced, energy-efficient data centers in the world" and that the company is teaming with PNM Resources to leverage New Mexico's solar and wind energy to power the data center. "By powering our data center with renewable energy versus natural gas, we also reduce the water usage associated with the data center by 30 percent," he said. "The new solar and wind farms also bring additional jobs and investments to the region."
According to a statement from Gov. Susana Martinez's office, Facebook will make an initial $250 million investment. State officials believe the project has long-term economic benefits.
"This was an incredibly intense national search, in which to locate their facility, and the fact that New Mexico won this, speaks volumes about where we have come in the last six years," said Jon Barela, New Mexico Economic Development Department Cabinet Secretary.
Los Lunas agreed to give up property taxes for 30 years in exchange for annual payments from Facebook starting at $50,000 and going as high as $500,000. The village council in June also approved an ordinance allowing for the issuance of up to $30 billion in industrial revenue bonds to lure the facility to Los Lunas.
The proposed $250 million data center is expected to span 850 acres and use at least 30 megawatts of solar and wind power to fuel technology at the site with the potential to expand to 100 megawatts in the coming years. Facebook also has committed to a minimum of 30 full-time workers in Los Lunas, with the potential for thousands more during the construction phase and a promise to source workers and materials locally.
Governor Susana Martinez released this statement on the decision:
"Facebook is a stellar, cutting-edge, high-tech company, and it's an honor to welcome them to New Mexico," said Governor Martinez. "Making our state more competitive for jobs and new investment is critical to growing our private sector and diversifying our economy. With the improvements we've made over the past several years, New Mexico is finally competing again, and in this case, it's a big win for the people of our state and our economic future.When we first sat down with Facebook executives 13 months ago, we weren't even on their radar. But we made a strong case and laid out how competitive we have become," continued Governor Martinez. "Two months later, we got the call and went straight to work. We competed. And, by working together at all levels of government, and with private partners like PNM, we have helped make New Mexico a home for one of the largest tech companies in the world."
"Facebook is a stellar, cutting-edge, high-tech company, and it's an honor to welcome them to New Mexico," said Governor Martinez. "Making our state more competitive for jobs and new investment is critical to growing our private sector and diversifying our economy. With the improvements we've made over the past several years, New Mexico is finally competing again, and in this case, it's a big win for the people of our state and our economic future.When we first sat down with Facebook executives 13 months ago, we weren't even on their radar. But we made a strong case and laid out how competitive we have become," continued Governor Martinez. "Two months later, we got the call and went straight to work. We competed. And, by working together at all levels of government, and with private partners like PNM, we have helped make New Mexico a home for one of the largest tech companies in the world."
Martinez attributed this to her efforts in creating a business-friendly administration by lowering business taxes, creating corporate incentives and developing a closing fund.
After initially competing with New Mexico for the Facebook center, Utah officials and residents raised concerns late this summer about the amount of water the center would require to cool its computers and the cost of tax breaks. Facebok didn't release proper statistcs on projected water usage, but company said it is expected to be "far less" than the "theoretical maximum quoted publicity". During winter, it said "New Mexico's cool temperatures and dry weather will mean the data center will consume very little water in comparison to hot, humid days".
Find more on http://www.fbchandra.com
