Facebook has unveiled its plans to construct a new solar-powered data center in Mesa, Phoenix, Arizona. US$800 million will be poured into this new investment that will provide approximately 100 new jobs and 1,400 construction jobs to the city of Mesa. The data center will house switches, routers, servers, storage systems, and other equipment. Facebook says power will come from three new solar facilities in Pinal County along with the Salt River Project. A council member stated that the solar plants will put about 450MW of power back into the power grid.
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The facility, to be located north of the Gateway Airport near Elliot and Ellsworth, will occupy 960,000 square feet in its first phase. It will use more than 50% less water than the average data center, and that the water will be recycled several times before being used for agriculture. The facility is expected to go into operation in 2023. The Facebook Mesa Data Center will be among the most advanced, water and energy-efficient data center facilities in the world and will be part of the tech giant’s global infrastructure that brings its services and apps to people around the world.
“We are thrilled to be breaking ground on our newest data center. Mesa stood out as a great location for a number of reasons. It has great access to infrastructure, opportunities for renewable energy development, strong talent for both construction and operations, and great community partners. Thank you to the Arizona Commerce Authority, the City of Mesa, Salt River Project, the Eastmark Community, Bonneville Environmental Foundation, the State of Arizona, and to all of our partners who have assisted get us to today. We are excited to join the Mesa community and look forward to having a strong partnership for years to come,” said Rachel Peterson, VP of Infrastructure at Facebook.
I am amazed at this great sustainable infrastructural development by Facebook we are yet to experience. Will be following this. Big Ups Facebook VP Infrastructure. Kenya in Africa is also a great place to invest such sustainable projects.