Social media giant
Facebook has announced it is to power its data center in Oregon with solar power. Facebook, which has headquarters in Menlo Park, California, United States, recorded 2.19 billion monthly active users in the first quarter of 2018. To cater to this enormous audience, the company is aggressively involved in data center development and announced 12 new data centers since 2017. In a bid to off-set the environmental impact of its network of centers, the company has committed to renewable energy. Facebook has partnered with Portland, Oregon-based electric company Pacific Power to establish new solar projects to power its Prineville Data Center.
Facebook is a member of ‘RE100’ – an organization which includes some of the world's largest companies committed to renewable power. Its Prineville Data Center opened in Prineville, Oregon in 2011 to the benefit of the local community, which enjoyed job and infrastructure growth as a result of Facebook’s investment. Facebook and Pacific Power’s new projects will generate 437 megawatts of solar energy to make the center 100% powered by renewable energy. An announcement of the initiative was made in the presence of Oregon Governor Kate Brown and officials from Crook County and the City of Prineville. Prineville joins Facebook’s Menlo Park campus and data centers in Iowa, Texas and Sweden as 100% powered by renewables.
“Our work with Pacific Power to develop new solar resources represents a significant milestone for our hyper-efficient Prineville Data Center,” explained Facebook’s Energy Strategy Manager, Peter Freed. “We are committed to supporting 100% renewable energy, and we are thrilled to have found a solution for our first data center. We are proud to be a part of the Prineville community, and look forward to a continued partnership with the city and the state of Oregon.”
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