How many data centres does facebook have
Facebook’s 18 Data Centers: $20bn Investment, 40m Square Feet
Facebook’s global portfolio of data centers power the company’s apps and services, including Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp, enabling communications and sharing between billions of people around the world. To understand the company’s portfolio in-depth, Dgtl Infra answers the questions: How Many Data Centers Does Facebook Have? and Where Are Facebook Data Centers Located?
In total, Facebook owns and operates 18 data center campuses globally, comprising 40 million sqft and investment of over $20bn. In the United States, Facebook owns and operates 14 data center campuses spanning 34.2 million sqft and investment of over $16bn. While in Europe and Asia-Pacific, Facebook owns and operates 4 data center campuses encompassing 5.4 million sqft and investment of over $4bn.
How Many Data Centers Does Facebook Have?Below is a summary of Facebook’s 18 data center campuses, which are also individually detailed further along in this analysis.
| Data Center | Online | Buildings | SqFt (m) | Investment ($bn) |
| Dekalb, Illinois | 2022 | 2 | 0.9 | $0.8 |
| Altoona, Iowa | 2014 | 10 | 4.1 | $2.0 |
| Papillion (Sarpy), Nebraska | 2019 | 8 | 3.6 | $1.5 |
| New Albany, Ohio | 2020 | 5 | 2.5 | $1. 0 |
| Huntsville, Alabama | 2021 | 4 | 2.5 | $1.0 |
| Newton, Georgia | 2023 | 5 | 2.5 | $1.0 |
| Forest City, North Carolina | 2012 | 4 | 1.3 | $0.8 |
| Gallatin, Tennessee | 2023 | 2 | 1.0 | $0.8 |
| Henrico, Virginia | 2020 | 7 | 2.5 | $1.0 |
| Mesa, Arizona | Q4 2023 | 2 | 1. 0 | $0.8 |
| Los Lunas, New Mexico | 2019 | 6 | 2.8 | $1.0 |
| Fort Worth, Texas | 2017 | 5 | 2.6 | $1.5 |
| Prineville, Oregon | 2011 | 11 | 4.6 | $2.0 |
| Eagle Mountain, Utah | 2021 | 5 | 2.4 | $1.0 |
| Odense, Denmark | 2019 | 2 | 0.9 | $1.6 |
| Clonee, Ireland | 2018 | 3 | 1. 6 | $0.4 |
| Luleå, Sweden | 2013 | 3 | 1.0 | $1.0 |
| Tanjong Kling, Singapore | 2022 | 1 | 1.8 | $1.0 |
| Total | 85 | 39.6 | $20.1 |
Overall, Facebook’s 18 campuses comprise 85 data center buildings, implying an average building size of ~475k sqft per data center. Additionally, the company’s total investment per data center indicates a median cost to build of ~$460 per sqft.
Facebook Data Centers – BackgroundFacebook’s data center site selection is a multi-year process, which takes a number of factors into account.
The company seeks “shovel-ready” sites, access to strong fiber optic connectivity, renewable energy resources, employees for both construction and operation of the data center, as well as tax incentives from local governments.
Economic Impact
In the United States, Facebook’s direct investments from 2017 through 2019 in data center construction and operations contributed a cumulative $18.6bn to the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) and supported 178k+ jobs.
Moreover, every $1m in capital expenditures by Facebook supports 14 jobs, and every $1m in operating expenditures supports 18 jobs. During the construction of a data center, Facebook has 1.0k+ construction workers on-site at peak. Subsequently, once completed, a Facebook location typically supports 100+ jobs to manage the facility and site operations.
In Europe, Facebook’s data center spending in Ireland from 2015 to 2018 resulted in a total of €721m (~$875m) of sales activity and €188m (~$228m) of GDP in the country’s construction sector.
Sustainability
Facebook’s data centers operate on 100% renewable energy (i.e., solar and wind). Additionally, the company uses energy efficiency technologies that resulted in it achieving an average data center power usage effectiveness (PUE) of 1.10 in 2020. As a reference point, the industry average for data center PUE was 1.50 in 2020.
Also, Facebook minimizes or optimizes its overall water consumption, achieving annual data center water usage effectiveness (WUE) of 0.30 in 2020. Similarly, the company is significantly below the industry average for data center WUE, which was 1.80 in 2020.
Where Are Facebook Data Centers Located?United States
MidwestDekalb, Illinois – Data CenterIn 2020, Facebook broke ground on its Dekalb, Illinois data center campus located at the ChicagoWest Business Center, with its initial buildings expected to come on-line in 2022. In aggregate, the company is building 2 data centers at this campus as part of an $800m+ investment, which will span a total of 907k sqft.
Indeed, this implies a cost of $882 per sqft to develop this data center campus.
Finally, the company’s site in Dekalb, Illinois can ultimately hold up to five data center buildings, enabling further expansion capacity.
Altoona, Iowa – Data CenterIn 2013, Facebook broke ground on its Altoona, Iowa data center campus located at 100 Share Way, with its initial buildings coming on-line in 2014. In total, the company is building 10 data centers at this campus as part of a $2.0bn investment, which will span a total of 4.1 million sqft. Indeed, this implies a cost of $488 per sqft to develop this data center campus.
Overall Location: 100 Share Way NW, Altoona, IA 50009Finally, in 2020, the Altoona, Iowa data center campus used 980k megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity.
Papillion (Sarpy), Nebraska – Data CenterIn 2017, Facebook broke ground on its Papillion (Sarpy), Nebraska data center campus located at S 144th St, (Springfield), with its initial buildings coming on-line in 2019.
Cumulatively, the company is building 8 data centers at this campus as part of a $1.5bn+ investment, which will span a total of 3.6 million sqft. Indeed, this implies a cost of $417 per sqft to develop this data center campus.
Finally, in 2020, the Papillion (Sarpy), Nebraska data center campus used 519k megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity.
New Albany, Ohio – Data CenterIn 2017, Facebook broke ground on its New Albany, Ohio data center campus located at 1 Community Circle, with its initial buildings coming on-line in 2020. Collectively, the company is building 5 data centers at this campus as part of a $1.0bn+ investment, which will span a total of 2.5 million sqft. Indeed, this implies a cost of $400 per sqft to develop this data center campus.
Overall Location: 1 Community Circle, New Albany, OH 43054Finally, in 2020, the New Albany, Ohio data center campus used 270k megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity.
In 2018, Facebook broke ground on its Huntsville, Alabama data center campus located at 100 South Profile Place NW, with its initial buildings coming on-line in 2021. Overall, the company is building 4 data centers at this campus as part of a $1.0bn+ investment, which will span a total of 2.5 million sqft. Indeed, this implies a cost of $400 per sqft to develop this data center campus.
Overall Location: 100 South Profile Place NW, Huntsville, AL 35810Newton, Georgia – Data CenterIn 2018, Facebook broke ground on its Newton, Georgia data center campus located at 100 Move Fast Way (Social Circle), with its initial buildings expected to come on-line in 2023. In aggregate, the company is building 5 data centers at this campus as part of a $1.0bn+ investment, which will span a total of 2.5 million sqft. Indeed, this implies a cost of $400 per sqft to develop this data center campus.
In 2010, Facebook broke ground on its Forest City, North Carolina data center campus located at 404 Social Circle, with its initial buildings coming on-line in 2012. In total, the company is building 4 data centers at this campus as part of a $750m+ investment, which will span a total of 1.3 million sqft. Indeed, this implies a cost of $577 per sqft to develop this data center campus.
Overall Location: 404 Social Circle, Forest City, NC 28043Finally, in 2020, the Forest City, North Carolina data center campus used 595k megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity.
Gallatin, Tennessee – Data CenterIn 2020, Facebook broke ground on its Gallatin, Tennessee data center campus located at the Gallatin Industrial Park (Roundtree Drive and Brights Lane), with its initial buildings expected to come on-line in 2023. Cumulatively, the company is building 2 data centers at this campus as part of a $800m+ investment, which will span a total of 982k sqft.
Indeed, this implies a cost of $815 per sqft to develop this data center campus.
In 2017, Facebook broke ground on its Henrico, Virginia data center campus located at 6200 Technology Blvd, with its initial buildings coming on-line in 2020. Collectively, the company is building 7 data centers at this campus as part of a $1.0bn+ investment, which will span a total of 2.5 million sqft. Indeed, this implies a cost of $400 per sqft to develop this data center campus.
Overall Location: 6200 Technology Blvd, Sandston, VA 23150Finally, in 2020, the Henrico, Virginia data center campus used 204k megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity.
SouthwestMesa, Arizona – Data CenterIn 2021, Facebook broke ground on its Mesa, Arizona data center campus located at 3841 S Ellsworth Road, with its initial buildings expected to come on-line in Q4 2023.
Overall, the company is building 2 data centers at this campus as part of a $800m+ investment, which will span a total of 950k sqft. Indeed, this implies a cost of $842 per sqft to develop this data center campus.
Finally, the company’s site in Mesa, Arizona can ultimately hold up to five data center buildings, enabling further expansion capacity.
Los Lunas, New Mexico – Data CenterIn 2016, Facebook broke ground on its Los Lunas, New Mexico data center campus located at 4250 Messenger Loop NW, with its initial buildings coming on-line in 2019. In aggregate, the company is building 6 data centers at this campus as part of a $1.0bn+ investment, which will span a total of 2.8 million sqft. Indeed, this implies a cost of $357 per sqft to develop this data center campus.
Overall Location: 4250 Messenger Loop NW, Los Lunas, NM 87031Finally, in 2020, the Los Lunas, New Mexico data center campus used 571k megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity.
In 2015, Facebook broke ground on its Fort Worth, Texas data center campus located at 4500 Like Way, with its initial buildings coming on-line in 2017. In total, the company is building 5 data centers at this campus as part of a $1.5bn+ investment, which will span a total of 2.6 million sqft. Indeed, this implies a cost of $577 per sqft to develop this data center campus.
Overall Location: 4500 Like Way, Fort Worth, TX 76177Finally, in 2020, the Fort Worth, Texas data center campus used 941k megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity.
WestPrineville, Oregon – Data CenterIn 2010, Facebook broke ground on its Prineville, Oregon data center campus location at 735 S.W. Connect Way, with its initial buildings coming on-line in 2011. Cumulatively, the company is building 11 data centers at this campus as part of a $2.0bn+ investment, which will span a total of 4.
6 million sqft. Indeed, this implies a cost of $435 per sqft to develop this data center campus.
Finally, in 2020, the Prineville, Oregon data center campus used 686k megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity.
Eagle Mountain, Utah – Data CenterIn 2018, Facebook broke ground on its Eagle Mountain, Utah data center campus location at 1275 North Community Circle, with its initial buildings coming on-line in 2021. Collectively, the company is building 5 data centers at this campus as part of a $1.0bn+ investment, which will span a total of 2.4 million sqft. Indeed, this implies a cost of $417 per sqft to develop this data center campus.
Overall Location: 1275 North Community Circle, Eagle Mountain, UT 84005International
EuropeOdense (Syddanmark), Denmark – Data CenterIn 2017, Facebook broke ground on its Odense, Denmark data center campus location at Krogslundvej 140 5220, with its initial buildings coming on-line in 2019.
Overall, the company is building 2 data centers at this campus as part of a $1.6bn+ (10bn+ Danish Kroner) investment, which will span a total of 923k sqft (85.8k sqm). Indeed, this implies a cost of $1,709 per sqft to develop this data center campus.
Finally, in 2020, the Odense, Denmark data center campus used 343k megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity.
Clonee (Leinster), Ireland – Data CenterIn 2016, Facebook broke ground on its Clonee, Ireland data center campus location at Sli Na Chairde Portan, with its initial buildings coming on-line in 2018. In aggregate, the company is building 3 data centers at this campus as part of a ~$350m (~€300m) investment, which will span a total of 1.6 million sqft (150k sqm). Indeed, this implies a cost of $218 per sqft to develop this data center campus.
Overall Location: Sli Na Chairde Portan, Clonee, Co. Meath, IrelandFinally, in 2020, the Clonee, Ireland data center campus used 487k megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity.
In 2011, Facebook broke ground on its Luleå, Sweden data center campus location at Datavägen 15, 977 54, with its initial buildings coming on-line in 2013. In total, the company is building 3 data centers at this campus as part of a $1.0bn+ (8.7bn+ Swedish Kronor) investment, which will span a total of 1.0 million sqft (94k sqm). Indeed, this implies a cost of $995 per sqft to develop this data center campus.
Overall Location: Datavägen 15, 977 54, Luleå, SwedenFinally, in 2020, the Luleå, Sweden data center campus used 369k megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity.
Asia-PacificTanjong Kling, Singapore – Data CenterIn 2018, Facebook broke ground on its Singapore data center campus location at the Tanjong Kling Data Center Park, with its initial buildings coming on-line in 2022. Cumulatively, the company is building one, 11-story data center at this campus as part of a $1.
0bn+ (S$1.4bn+) investment, which will span a total of 1.8 million sqft (170k sqm). Indeed, this implies a cost of $565 per sqft to develop this data center campus.
Facebook Data Center Locations, Map
We need no introduction to Facebook. Over 2.5 billion users around the world actively uses Facebook each month. That tells us the volume of traffic and data which flow in and out from the Facebook. Have you ever wondered where all these data goes into that we share on Facebook? Well it is the Facebook data centers which are located around the world, which we will discuss today.
As per the information on Facebook, they have 17 data centers globally which are all supposed to run by 100% renewable energy. Its headquarter is located in California, USA and has offices in 70 cities worldwide which employs over 50,000 full-time employees.
Facebook Headquarter: 1 Hacker Way Menlo Park, California, USA 94025
If you didn’t know, Instagram, Whatsapp, Oculus VR, Giphy are also now part of Facebook, Inc.
Facebook Data Center Locations
Back in January 2010, Facebook announced to build its first data center in Prineville, Oregon. Before it, Facebook had been using colocation service providers such as Digital Realty to host their servers infrastructure. On initial days, Facebook also used CDN network from data centers of Akamai to quickly serve their content to end users. However, currently it uses its own CDN network (fbcdn.net) to cache its content. This journey, that began with first data center in Prineville, has now reached in 17 regions across the world. Please note that this list also includes Facebook data centers which are under construction. Here we have compiled the list of Facebook data center locations that we came to know.
- Denmark
- Ireland
- Singapore
- US
Denmark
Odense Data Center
Address: Krogslundvej 140, 5220 Odense, Denmark
Ireland
Clonee Data Center
Facebook Clonee Data Center is located in Ireland.
Address: Portan Co. Meath Clonee, Ireland
Singapore
Singapore Data Center
Facebook’s Singapore Data Center is located in Tanjong Kling. It is the first data center of Facebook in Asia Pacific region. Announced in September 2018, this facility has multi-storey, advanced design and ultra-efficient technology to make optimum use of limited spaces or resources in Singapore. This Facebook infrastructure is said to span the area of 170,000 sq.m.
Address: Tanjong Kling, Singapore
Sweden
Luleå Data Center
Address: Datavägen 15, 97754 Luleå, Sweden
United States (US)
Altoona Data Center
Facebook Altoona Data Center is located in Iowa, a mid-western state in USA.
Address: 100 Share Way NW 50009 Altoona, IA, US
DeKalb Data Center
Facebook on June 2020 announced its plan to build Dekalb Data Center in Illinois state of US.
It will be 12th data center of Facebook in US whereas 16th globally. This $800 million facility is supposed to have 907,000 sq.ft. of area.
Eagle Mountain Data Center
Facebook Eagle Mountain Data Center is located in Utah Sate of US.
Address: 1275 North Community Circle, Eagle Mountain, Utah (UT) 84005, United States
Forest City Data Center
Facebook Forest City Data Center is one of the earlier data centers of the social-media giant, which is located in North Carolina State in USA.
Address: 480 Social Circle, Forest City, North Carolina (NC), USA
Phone: +1 844-368-5200
Fort Worth Data Center
Address: 4500 Like Way 76177 Fort Worth, Texas (TX), US
Gallatin Data Center
On April 2020, Facebook has announced to build its 13th data center facility in US which will be located in Gallatin, Tennessee.
Henrico Data Center
Address: 6200 Technology Blvd 23150 Sandston, VA, US
Huntsville Data Center
Facebook Huntsville Data Center is located in Alabama state in US.
The facility is said to have 970,000 sq.ft. of total space.
Address: 5400 Prosperity Dr NW, Toney, Alabama (AL), USA
Los Luna Data Center
Los Luna Data Center is located in New Mexico state of US.
Address: 4250 Messenger Loop NW 87031 Los Lunas, New Mexico (NW), US
New Albany Data Center
Address: 1 Community Circle 43054 New Albany, Ohio (OH), US
Newton Data Center
Newton Data Center, located in Georgia State of US, was founded in 2018. So, it represents one of the latest data centers of Facebook in USA.
Address: 100 Move Fast Way 30025 Social Circle, Georgia (GA), US
Papillion Data Center
Address: S 144th St, Springfield, Nebraska (NE), USA
Prineville Data Center
As mentioned above, Prinelle is a first data center of Facebook located in Oregon State of USA in northwest region. Its construction was completed in 2013 after 5 years of construction.
However, the facility was announced in January 2010.
Everything you wanted to know about Facebook data centers
While Facebook is preparing to build another hyperscale data center (this time near the town of Los Lunas in the US state of New Mexico), we invite you to study interesting statistics regarding data center infrastructure the most popular social network on the planet. Want to know how many data centers Facebook has? What servers and network equipment are used there? How much is Facebook spending on its computing infrastructure? Below you will find answers to these and many other questions.
How big is Facebook's internet infrastructure?
Social networks Facebook requires significant computing resources to process and store a huge amount of photos and other media content, which is constantly growing as users add hundreds of millions of new files.
In order to keep users active, Facebook engineers built four huge data center campuses.
Two more are currently under construction. In addition, the company leases additional server space from third-party colocation providers around the world.
Where are the Facebook data centers located?
In January 2010, Facebook announced plans to build its own data center in Prineville, Oregon, USA. Since then, the social network has actively expanded its infrastructure by building data centers in Forest City, North Carolina (USA), Lulea (Sweden) and Altoona, Iowa (USA). The company is also building data centers in Fort Worth, Texas (USA), Clony (Ireland) and Los Lunas, New Mexico (USA).
How big are Facebook server farms?
As the social network Facebook grows, its demand for data center resources also grows. The expansion of the Oregon data center campus increased its area from 14,000 square meters to more than 30,000 square meters. That's more than two Wal-Mart hypermarkets. Last year, Facebook's lawyers received permission to build another 48,000-square-foot server farm on the Oregon campus.
The area of the remaining campuses is also approaching the 100,000 mark.
How many servers does Facebook have?
When Facebook first appeared, without offering users the ability to bulk upload photos or videos, the entire service could run on a single server.
But now everything is different. Facebook representatives did not disclose how many servers the company uses to maintain its infrastructure. But according to unofficial sources, as of June 2010, the company was running at least 60,000 servers, almost doubling since 2009.year and a sixfold increase compared to 2008.
Apparently, now the account goes to hundreds of thousands. Facebook's tax return states that the value of the company's "network equipment" at the end of 2015 was about $3.63 billion. In 2014, that figure was 20 percent lower.
What servers does Facebook use?
Unlike most of its competitors, Facebook has equipped its data centers almost entirely with hardware solutions designed in-house.
In April 2011, the social network launched the Open Compute Project, through which it shares open specifications for its low-power servers and other custom-designed hardware, including server racks, network switches, power supplies, and UPSs.
The company's engineers seek to remove all components of hardware systems whose functionality they do not need. Facebook servers run on both Intel chips and AMD processors. The company has also previously experimented with servers based on ARM architecture processors.
Facebook servers come with custom power supplies that allow machines to use 277 volts AC instead of the traditional 208 volts. This reduces the number of power conversion steps on the way to the final load. Previously, Facebook engineers considered installing batteries in their servers, but they eventually settled on in-row UPSs. There are 20 batteries inside each such UPS system.
How much does Facebook spend on its data centers?
Facebook has invested billions in infrastructure to support its social network, which currently serves about 1.
13 billion daily active users worldwide (most of them, or 84.5 percent, live outside the US and Canada) . The social network also spends huge sums every year on the construction and maintenance of these facilities.
The company does not publish exact information about how much money it spends on data centers, but some figures tend to be made public along with official documents. So, the data center that the company is building in Fort Worth, for example, is expected to cost about $500,000 initially. But as the campus expands, the investment could reach $1 billion.
Earlier, Facebook representatives reported that in 2015 the company's capital expenditures on data centers, servers, network infrastructure and office buildings reached $2.52 billion. In 2014, this figure was $1.83 billion. , and in 2013 - $ 1.36 billion.
In 2015, the amount of expenses for the operation of data centers and technical infrastructure of Facebook increased by $ 480 million compared to 2014 (data from the tax return).
The company's engineers expect these costs to rise further in 2016 as the social network continues to expand its existing data center campuses and build new ones.
How efficient are Facebook data centers?
Facebook's Prineville data center boasts a Power Utilization Effectiveness or PUE ranging from 1.06 to 1.08 units. Representatives of the company said that its data center in North Carolina will have a similar level of efficiency.
Recall that the PUE metric allows you to compare individual data centers through the ratio of their total electricity consumption to the amount of electricity used by IT equipment. A PUE of 2 indicates that IT equipment uses 50 percent less power than ancillary equipment in a data center building.
Where does your Facebook live? | Colta.ru
Where does your Facebook live? | Colta.ruDecember 14, 2018SocietyFor example, Sweden
10314
You are human first: how Sweden helps people with disabilitiesAbout the secret recipe for the “Swedish miracle”Museum of one catastropheNobel committee: not the whole truth”Men should learn from each other, not from someone outside who would speak properly "Most people who are prone to violence are not monsters or crazy" "Flogsta's screams", or How studies in Swedish universities work Money, money, money: how money is treated in Sweden Falun, the center of civilization Forward, Not Back” A New Type of Parenthood: Sounds Convincing – Worth Trying Doug.
Big boss goes on maternity leave
The text continues the joint project COLTA.RU with the official website of Sweden in Russia in Russian Sweden.ru - “For example, Sweden”.
Where are the trillions of chats, statuses and photos that you fill your Facebook physically stored? To a large extent, they lie unharmed among the snows near the North Pole. One of the main bases for processing social network data is located in Sweden, in the city of Luleå in the fjord of the Gulf of Bothnia in the Baltic Sea, just 100 km from the Arctic Circle.
Facebook announced its intention to deploy data centers in Luleå in order to relieve the load on servers in various US states in 2011, and by 2013 acquired the first data center here. A year later, the company announced the construction of a second hub in Luleå, consisting of two buildings (each 28,000 square meters).
In May 2018, Facebook announced that it was going to open a third data processing center (DPC) in Luleå and thus double the size of its data centers - now the total area of all storage facilities will exceed 100,000 square meters. The company can invest about $1 billion in the new project and expects to complete the construction of the data center by 2021. But why Facebook decided to settle down here?
Getting cold
Data IT firms know full well that despite the seemingly “invisibility” of digital data, processing data consumes as much energy as heavy production. Due to Luleå's proximity to the Arctic Circle, the data center does not need to deploy server cooling systems. The cold climate copes with this task: the average annual temperature in Luleå is 1.3 degrees Celsius, and in winter, as a rule, 20 degrees below zero. Special fans in the data center Facebook pumping frosty outside air into rooms with server racks. Before entering the halls, the air goes through a process of filtration, as well as optimization of temperature and humidity.
According to Mark Zuckerberg, this allows companies to use 40% less energy than traditional data centers. That is why Facebook considers its data center in Luleå to be the most energy efficient computing complex in the world. But that's not all.
Before stopping at Luleå Facebook not only held a "bride-in" of other similar regions of Sweden, but also looked into neighboring countries. However, the choice was made in favor of the city not only because of the climate, but also because of its thriving scientific environment, Fredrik Kallioniemi, managing director of the Aurorum Science Park , told The Epoch Times .
This chilly city of more than 77,000 inhabitants, and in addition to the beautiful and rugged nature of the fjords (and they are not only here or in Norway), Luleå differs from other cities in the country with its focus on innovation. In particular, one of the three Swedish universities of technology (Technical University of Luleå) and a science park Aurorum , managed by investment company Luleå Näringsliv AB (51% owned by the local business community and 49% owned by the Municipality of Luleå).
Luleå became home to various IT projects back in the late 90s, and in 2009 the city authorities decided to try to attract foreign capital. One of the bets was made just for data centers.
The arrival of Facebook in Luleå sparked interest in the region among potential students. In 2013, after the opening of the first data center Facebook , the number of applicants has increased dramatically in the city. The university, by the way, is literally opposite the hub of this social network. In general, this helps Luleå and other "harsh" regions of Sweden to fight stereotypes about bearded unsociable guys. After all, what company can be more social and contact than Facebook ? And since she chooses Luleå, it means that everything is definitely in order with communication here.
About new oil
Following Facebook Other companies have reached out to Luleå; among them are both technological giants and players in more traditional businesses.
In Luleå itself, this is referred to as the "Facebook effect". As early as the mid-1910s, due to the popularity among corporations that chose to store data in Luleå, the city began to be referred to as The Node Pole (The Node Pole) . In total, about 20 data centers have been launched in this area. For example, their plans to place their data centers here were announced in 2018 by BMW and Amazon .
Sweden is well aware that data is the new oil, and there are already more than a hundred large data centers operating here, whose market value exceeds $1.5 billion.In Sweden itself, the development of data centers is not only the number one business goal, but also two and three, and the investment communities are trying to attract foreign players and compete for their attention with neighboring Norway.
Therefore, in 2017, Sweden reduced the electricity tax rate for data centers by 97%. Previously, such benefits were mainly for companies from the heavy industry (for automobiles and metallurgical plants).
This protectionist move allowed the country to become the cheapest electricity consumption area for business in the EU. By the way, inexpensive electricity also attracted miners to Sweden, who tried to make money on the cryptocurrency boom here on their production.
About water
Low electricity prices did not appear by themselves - Sweden has been systematically developing renewable energy sources and optimizing resources for decades. A hundred years ago, the country was building hydroelectric power plants for the metallurgical, iron ore and pulp and paper industries. Now hydropower plants account for about 50% of Sweden's energy balance.
There is also a hydroelectric power plant in Lulea, located on the Lule River. It is the forces of one and a half dozen dams that operate data centers located in this area. A hydroelectric power plant in little Lulea generates twice as much power as the Hoover Dam in the United States. Thus, the river generates about 13.6 million megawatt-hours of hydroelectric power, which covers 10% of Sweden's total demand for electricity.
Internet companies from the USA are also thinking about "clean" energy, where environmental issues are quite acute. The transition to renewable sources is one of the most important tasks not only for Facebook , but also for Google , Amazon , Apple and other IT giants who have chosen if not Sweden, then its neighbors. Not only organizations and companies within the framework of public-private partnerships, but also individual entrepreneurs are trying to ride the data storage business. For example, Anders Berglund, who sold hot dogs, opened his own company Fortlex at the beginning of the 2000s, which was engaged in data storage. Now the company has deployed two data centers, and its services are used by BMW Group . Fortlex , although located outside of Luleå, uses the energy of the hydroelectric power station of this particular city.
The transition to "green" energy is facilitated not only by the awareness of the Swedes themselves, but also by the EU restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions, which will come into effect from 2020, and the legislatively fixed plans of Sweden itself to completely abandon the production of energy from hydrocarbons by 2045.
About warmth and peace
A bonus from the synergy of the northern climate and the "hot" work of data centers is the exchange of energy. Thus, the heat generated by data centers is directed to heating not only the premises of the data center itself (this is how Facebook ), but even Swedish apartment buildings. For example, the company EcoDataCenter in the Swedish city of Falun is also engaged in data storage and distributes heat from data centers to heat nearby buildings. By the way, EcoDataCenter , which is in the top 10 most environmentally friendly server companies in the world, draws its energy not from water, but from air and light due to windmills and solar panels.
The Stockholm authorities have similar plans. According to Stockholm Data Park , 20,000 apartments can be heated with a single 10 megawatt data center. Such players as Interxion , IBM , Ericsson and Bahnhof are going to participate in the project on heat transfer from data centers.
Another advantage that attracts foreign players to Sweden to entrust this country with the storage of their data is the reliability of not only local residents, but also nature. Low seismic activity has been recorded in this region, and the climate, although harsh, does without surprises.
In addition, Sweden has a low crime rate and economic stability. This cannot but reassure the owners and potential employees of data centers owned by foreign companies. For comfort, Scandinavia received the characteristic unmenacing hygge , which can be interpreted as a feeling of comfort and well-being.
Ordinary Internet users do not think about where their likes and comments are stored. But if this information is processed in the north of Sweden, there is hardly any reason to worry about their safety.
SUBSCRIBE TO THE COLTA.RU CHANNEL IN YANDEX.ZEN SO YOU DO NOT MISS ANYTHING
Did you like the material? Help the site!
Test
Santa's Kiss
Forbidden Christmas hit and other holiday songs in a special test and playlist COLTA.
RU
news
March 11, 2022
14:52 COLTA.RU blocked in Russia
March 3, 2022
17:48 "Rain" temporarily stops broadcasting
17:18 The Union of Journalists of Karelia complained about Roskomnadzor to the Prosecutor General's Office
16:32 Sergey Abashin left the Association of Ethnologists and Anthropologists of Russia
15:36 The Prosecutor General's Office called participation in anti-war rallies extremism
All news
New in Society sectionMost read
Why does guilt immobilize and what should replace it?
76159
Motherland as a loss
54254
Letter from Russia
65724
American Police Architectural History
38801
Viktor Vakhshtein: "Who did not want to be a clown among the urbanists, became an urbanist under the clowns"
48694
Who and why is fighting for Sretenka, 13?
34058
Screen dark side
14575
Good Souls by Nikita Efimov.
Online premiere
12801
Antifa: what was it? And will it happen again?
49246
Grandmother
13742
Reasonable debate in the age of social media and cancel culture
15679
Peter Pavlensky. Big talk
28250
Today online
Colta SpecialsEditorial COLTA.RU
Address to readers
March 5, 202298531
Colta SpecialsCulture During "War Operations"
Do we need poetry, exhibitions and concerts now? Blitz survey COLTA.
RU
March 3, 202289231
SocietyWhy does guilt immobilize and what should replace it?
Philosopher Maria Bikbulatova on what to do with the feelings that engulfed many amid military events — and how to move from emotions to rational action
March 1, 202276159
SocietyMotherland as loss
Gleb Napreenko about what inner territory he can find himself in these days - in relation to the feeling of the Motherland
March 1, 202254254
LiteratureOften you write das Leid but read das Lied
Anglo-German and Russian-Ukrainian poetic dialogue between Yevgeny Ostashevsky and Yevgeny Belorusets
March 1, 202252842
SocietyLetter from Russia
Nadya Plungyan writes from Russia to Russia
March 1, 202265724
Colta SpecialsPolyphonic Witnesses to the End and the Beginning.
Essays by Ganna Komar These days Kolta continues the project dedicated to the future of Belarus
March 1, 202247235
TheaterChance and inevitability
Zara Abdullayeva about Dmitry Volkostrelov's "Russian Death" at the TsIM
February 22, 202239453
Literature"I'm interested in minor female characters in prose written by a man"
Milena Slavicka: big interview
February 22, 202239387
SocietyArchitectural History of the American Police
A chapter from Viktor Vakhshtein's new book Imagining the City.
