Study Finds Domestic Facebook Data Centers Have Contributed Nearly $6 Billion in GDP, Support Thousands of Jobs, and Spur Growth
Our data centers house the infrastructure that makes it possible to connect billions of people. They also help us accommodate the growing number of photos and videos being shared, and help us scale as we create more data-intensive and immersive experiences through live video, 360 photos and videos, and virtual reality.
We are currently building our seventh data center in Los Lunas, which will start serving traffic in late 2018.
A new study, conducted by RTI International, found that Facebook’s four operational domestic data centers—located in Prineville, Ore.; Fort Worth, Texas; Altoona, Iowa; and Forest City, N.C.—have contributed $5.8 billion in GDP to the U.S. economy since 2010. The study also found that the data centers benefit local communities by driving investment in renewable energy and providing impactful grants that support local schools and nonprofits.
These four data centers spent approximately $4.2 billion from 2010 to 2016, with the largest contributions going to the construction, wholesale trade and real estate sectors. The study also found that thanks to our commitment to hiring and sourcing materials locally, for every one data center job, there are five jobs supported elsewhere in the economy. And for every $1 million in Facebook’s operations spending, there are 13 jobs supported in the economy.
For phase one of the Los Lunas Data Center, two buildings and an admin space are under construction — totaling 970,000 square feet, with almost 800 workers on-site daily, and 80 percent of them from New Mexico. Additionally, a 30-megawatt solar generation project is currently being installed by two Albuquerque companies.
In November 2017, we announced an additional four buildings on the site, creating a six-building data center campus. With the addition of these four buildings, we are adding nearly 2 million square feet to the Los Lunas Data Center and are directly investing more than $1 billion into the site. We expect this expansion to keep construction crews busy for years to come — well into 2023 — and support more full-time jobs as the data center comes online.
Since 2010, Facebook has committed to powering its data center fleet with 100 percent renewable energy. Today, access to cost-effective renewable energy is one of our primary site-selection criteria. We are proud to say that our data centers are among the most advanced energy- and water-efficient facilities in the world, utilizing 38 percent less electricity and 50 percent less water than an average data center. Between 2011 and 2016, Facebook saved over 2.5 million megawatts of carbon-intensive electricity, which resulted in CO2 emissions reductions of over 1.15 million metric tons.
This commitment has resulted in not only a significant reduction in CO2 emissions and our use of grid-generated electricity and water, but it also has spurred others to invest in renewable-energy resources in the states that host us.
The Los Lunas Data Center is on target to be one of the most advanced and energy-efficient data center facilities in the world. The entire campus will be powered with 100 percent clean and renewable energy — thanks to the new renewable energy tariff we worked extensively with Public Service Company of New Mexico to design and implement.
Facebook is committed to playing a positive role in the communities where we operate. Every year, we award community action grants to organizations where our data centers are operational. Since 2011, we have awarded more than 290 grants supporting projects that put the power of technology to use for community benefit, help improve education at all levels, and encourage the community to participate in local activities.
We are proud of our partnership with the Village of Los Lunas, and we look forward to a continued investment in the community for years to come.
You can read the Impact of Facebook’s Data Center Fleet study at https://www.rti.org/sites/default/files/facebook_data_centers_2018.pdf.