Facebook to Invest $1B Into Georgia Data Center Expansion

Facebook Newton County Data Center. Rendering courtesy of Facebook

Facebook has announced a three-building expansion at its Newton Data Center, a 970,000-square-foot data center in Newton County, Ga. In the second phase of the development, the company will add 1.5 million square feet to the existing two-building campus. The first phase is expected to come online in 2021, while the second phase is scheduled for completion in 2023, according to The Covington News.

Upon full build-out, the investment will total more than $1 billion and add more than 200 jobs. To achieve the company’s objective of powering its global operations with 100 percent renewable energy, the firm invested in six solar energy developments, which could provide up to 435 MW. These solar farm projects will add more than 2,500 construction jobs.

Located at 100 Move Fast Way in Social Circle, Ga., the first phase of the data center broke ground in 2018, with Holden Construction Co. serving as the general contractor. The facility will run on renewable energy and will use outdoor air for free cooling. Situated close to Interstate 20, the property is 44 miles east of downtown Atlanta.

In August, the social media giant kicked off construction on an $800 million data center spanning 982,000 square feet in Gallatin, Tenn., and in July, the company broke ground on a similar, slightly smaller project in DeKalb, Ill. In addition to expanding its server farm footprint, the tech giant paid $390 million for REI Co-op’s Bellevue Campus, a 400,000-square-foot office property in Bellevue, Wash.