HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- When Facebook opens a new data center in eastern Henrico's White Oak Technology Park the 970,000-square-foot facility will run on 100 percent renewable energy. Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe announced Facebook's $750 million investment in Henrico during a Thursday morning press conference at the Virginia State Capitol.
"I am proud to welcome Facebook to Henrico County, and we look forward to a strong partnership," Governor McAuliffe said in a prepared statement. "Working with companies like Facebook and many others, we are advancing Virginia’s position as a global leader in the technology economy and a world-class home to innovative companies of every size."
The project, which will initially create thousands of construction jobs, will eventually bring 100 new permanent Facebook jobs to the region.
"We could not be more thrilled to locate our next data center here," Rachel Peterson, Director of Data Center Strategy at Facebook, said. "When considering new data center locations, we not only look for clean and renewable energy solutions, but great partnerships within the local community, a strong pool of local talent, excellent access to fiber, and a robust electric grid. Henrico County and the Commonwealth of Virginia has it all."
A partnership between Dominion Energy Virginia and Facebook will lead to the construction of "multiple solar facilities" to provide renewable energy that will keep the data center up and running.
"Access to clean energy is joining reliability and price as important considerations when businesses decide to locate their operations," Robert M. Blue, President and CEO of Dominion Energy’s Power Delivery Group, said. "We are pleased we have been able to develop a solution for Facebook that meets all those requirements and creates a model that can be used by other large businesses as well."
This is a developing story.
