EAGLE MOUNTAIN, Utah, May 30, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — Facebook will be building a 970,000 square foot data center in Eagle Mountain, Governor Gary Herbert announced Wednesday.
“Pleased to announce that @Facebook will construct a state-of-the-art data center in #EagleMountain, bringing more than $100 million in pioneering infrastructure. Welcome to Utah, Facebook!,” Herbert tweeted.
Eagle Mountain City announced in a news release the data center will be at the Sweetwater Industrial Park.
“Facebook’s investment includes more than $100 million in infrastructure, including a new electrical substation that will bring 1000 megawatts of new power delivery capacity to the region to support additional economic development in Eagle Mountain and the surrounding area,” the news release said. “The data center would be powered by 100 percent, net-new renewable energy through utilization of Rocky Mountain Power’s available renewable energy tariffs.”
The Facebook data center is expected to employ 30-50 people full time, with potential for more contract workers.
“After a thorough search, we selected Eagle Mountain for a number of reasons—it provides good access to renewable energy, a strong talent pool, and a great set of partners,” said Rachel Peterson, vice president of Data Center Strategy at Facebook, in a prepared statement.
“We are excited to make Utah our new home and look forward to a long and successful partnership with the state, the city of Eagle Mountain, and our new community.”
The data center in its first phase would increase property tax currently collected for the 490-acre site by 12,000 times. The project represents a $750 million investment in Eagle Mountain, and will benefit the city, Utah County, Alpine School District, Central Utah Water Conservancy District, and Unified Fire Service Area.
Facebook will purchase its own water rights and construct the required water infrastructure. The data center facility is designed to be water-efficient and will reuse water multiple times.
“After years of research, planning, and preparation, in a coordinated effort among state, county, and local officials, this project is a big win for Eagle Mountain and Utah,” said Eagle Mountain Mayor Tom Westmoreland.
Construction will begin this month and the data center is expected to come online in 2020.
