Novva to Build $500M Data Center in Reno

Exterior rendering of the new Novva data center. Image courtesy of Novva Data Centers

Novva Data Centers will build its second facility in Nevada and fourth overall on a 20-acre site in Reno, within the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center. The new data center will cost more than $500 million to develop, CEO Wes Swenson told Commercial Property Executive. Novva plans to break ground on May 15 and expects to bring the 60-megawatt facility online in late 2024.

The developer is working with Ehvert Mission Critical as design and engineering partner. AE Urbia Architects and Engineers and J.M. Williams and Associates will provide architecture and structural engineering services.

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Novva Tahoe Reno will be a 300,000-square-foot data center with six data halls, each featuring 10 megawatts of power and roughly 30,000 square feet of 54-foot raised-floor space. Customers will be able to access high-density deployments served by an on-site 100-megawatt power station, provided by NV Energy.

The facility will boast multiple high-tech security measures, including autonomous aerial surveillance and robotic dogs. The company also plans to utilize waterless cooling, drought-resistant landscaping and other sustainability features.

“Data centers need to evolve quickly to water-free or lower water usage for cooling, as well as innovating around more sound environmental building and operational practices. Data centers are like massive symphonies with so many instruments and talents, that it takes a lot to make quality music together. Supply is one challenge, innovation is another,” Swenson told CPE.

Reno’s appeal

Interior rendering of the Novva data center. Image courtesy of Novva Data Centers

The Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center is a 107,000-acre park that includes 30,000 acres of developable land. Located roughly 9 miles east of Reno in Storey County, along Interstate 80, the campus is home to Tesla’s Gigafactory 1 and Google‘s $600 million data center, as well as to a 130-megawatt data center operated by Switch.

According to Swenson, Reno provides a strong combination of appealing factors for data center development, including access to fast fiber, easy access to the Bay Area, power costs below national averages, tax abatements and access to renewable energy. Overall, Novva could benefit from operational costs between 50 and 75 percent lower than typical costs in other markets, Swenson told CPE. The firm expects to employ between 40 and 50 people in permanent positions at its upcoming facility.

“Reno is a natural location for data centers, and gives Novva one of the strongest multi-connected location platforms, both for Eastern clients, as well as Western. We saw an opportunity to provide a dedicated, and pure wholesale data center location in the Tahoe-Reno area,” Swenson added.

Novva is currently working on another Nevada facility. Last year, the firm paid $45 million for an industrial property in Las Vegas and started constructing a 100-megawatt data center at the location. Completion is expected later this year.