Virginia is celebrating news that Microsoft will open a new, state-of-the-art data center in the southern part of the state, providing a much-needed cash infusion and a small but welcome increase in new jobs.
As Datamation reports, Microsoft’s ambitious cloud-computing build out will include an almost $500 million data center in Mecklenburg County.
Microsoft recently opened a large-scale, 700,000-square-foot data center in the Chicago area as well as a 300,000-square-foot one in Dublin, Ireland around this time last year.
Virginia, according to the governor’s office, competed against North Carolina and Texas for the facility. High on Microsoft’s priority was ready access to reliable, inexpensive electricity.
Governor Bob McDonnell of Virginia announced Friday that Microsoft has decided to open a next-generation data center in the southern part of the state.
“Microsoft Corp. will invest up to $499 million to locate their latest generation data center (Gen4) in Mecklenburg County, in what will be the largest economic investment in southern Virginia history,” a statement released by the governor’s office said.
However, true to form, Microsoft is saying little about the planned new data center.
“Microsoft can confirm its plans to build a data center in Virginia but has no further comment at this time,” a spokesperson for Microsoft Global Foundation Services said in a statement e-mailed to InternetNews.com.
