Altoona site will be Meta's largest data center in the world by 2025, company announces – Des Moines Register
Meta’s Altoona data center will become the company’s largest in the world by 2025, the company formerly known as Facebook announced Tuesday.
With two new buildings in an H-shape, the site will surpass 5 million square feet, according to information provided by the company. The buildout is expected to be finished in about three years. Meta first announced plans for the Altoona site eight years ago.
“Altoona has been an excellent place for our fourth global data center since we broke ground in 2013,” said Rachel Peterson, vice president of infrastructure for Facebook. “With ready access to renewable wind energy, good infrastructure, a strong talent pool and great community partners, Altoona, the Greater Des Moines Partnership and the state of Iowa have continued to deliver on everything we saw when we started building almost 10 years ago. We’re proud to call Altoona home.”
The company previously announced an expansion earlier this year. Meta has 18 data centers worldwide.
The seventh and final expansion was to be announced at a ceremony for seven graduates of the Hardhat in Hand construction jobs training program, which is supported by Meta, its general contractor Turner Construction Company and Des Moines Area Community College. The graduates spent eight weeks completing classroom work and job training that could result in a position with Turner or one of its trade partners.
The graduates for this round of the program were Ahmad Bilal, Carter Dirksen, Wesson Kraai, Reagan Lehman, Samuel Mitchell, Jaquese Sheets and Steven Whelan. Participants take the opportunity to learn about different trades and pursue certifications.
More than 400 people work on-site at the data center, and more than 1,000 construction workers have been on-site during its build-out. The wind-powered data center reflects a $2.5 billion investment. At 5 million square feet, that’s equal to more than five skyscrapers the size of the 801 Grand town in downtown Des Moines.
Chris Higgins covers the eastern suburbs for the Register. Reach him at chiggins@registermedia.com and follow him on Twitter @chris_higgins_.
