Facebook opens data center in New Albany
NEW ALBANY, Ohio (WCMH) — The 15th Facebook data center officially went online Thursday in New Albany, Ohio.
The nearly 2.5 million square foot campus will eventually be home to 5 buildings several of which hold servers tied into the massive infrastructure that supports the estimated 3 billion Facebook users.
Touting the accolades of the data centers, the press was told the facility will be supported by 100% renewable energy and that it has achieved LEED Gold certification.
In a rare opportunity to go behind the scenes at the data center, we were shown one of the massive rooms filled with servers.
Temperature control in the building is a complex systems of outside air, filters, and fans that create pressurized areas that force hot air into tunnels that allow it to mix with the cooler outside air and the cycle repeats.
Efficiency is everywhere you look in the building, from the way the servers are designed to how they get around the massive buildings on scooters.
Employed by Facebook at the site are around 50 people, including security. That number is expected to increase by an additional 100 employees with the expansion of two more buildings to the existing ones that have been constructed over the last two years.
The estimated investment in the State of Ohio this project carries is $1 billion.
That investment goes beyond the buildings, or the jobs the create, but to the community impact the data center and Facebook has.
The company announced they would be giving Licking Heights High School a $250,000 grand for their STEM program. Another $190,000 grant was given to assist with Rose Run Park in New Albany.
While there was great excitement at the data center for Thursday’s announcements, people in downtown New Albany just a few miles away were mostly unaware of the center’s existence or the facility going online.
However, when informed of all that has been done and is being planned, those same individuals had positive reactions.
Ultimately, while they were happy for the community’s good fortune; they also mentioned that this sort of boon is needed throughout Ohio, especially in areas of hard hit economic distress.