Facebook announced that its fifth privately owned and second 100 percent renewable energy powered data center is being built at Fort Worth, Texas, with $1 billion.
To suffice for the data center’s energy requirements, Facebook is co-developing a 200 MW wind farm in collaboration with the local energy companies – Citigroup Energy, Alterra Power Corporation, and Starwood Energy Group.
The wind farm, which is expected to deliver clean energy by next year, is located on a 17000-acre site in Clay County, 90 miles from the data center, and produces about half the power of a typical coal plant.
“200 MW is more energy than we will need for the foreseeable future, and we’re proud to have played a role in bringing this project to Texas,” said Ken Patchett, director of data center operations for the west region.
Instead of depending on the energy-intensive air-conditioners, like two of its other data centers, Prineville and Forest city, the Fort Worth facility will also use outdoor air for cooling.
“100% renewable energy is quickly becoming the new benchmark for any company that is wanting to power its operations sustainably, particularly in the IT sector,” Los Angeles Times reported as David Pomerantz, Greenpeace senior climate and energy campaigner said. “Companies that are really innovative we are seeing embrace this 100% renewable energy goal,”.
“When it’s finished, the Fort Worth facility will be one of the most advanced data centers in the world, featuring the latest in Open Compute server, storage, and network designs,”,the announcement notes. Facebook’s data center at Iowa also buys energy from a nearby wind farm.
