Facebook, which renamed itself Meta in October 2021, has chosen Kuna, Idaho, as the location for its newest data center. The building, dubbed The Meta Kuna Data Center, will be powered entirely by renewable energy generated by new resources connected to Idaho Power’s grid, environmentalleader.com writes.
Idaho Power launched its Clean Energy Your Way initiative in December, providing families and businesses with a variety of methods to support renewable energy. Participants can buy Green-e® Energy certified renewable energy from a 50/50 mix of wind and solar projects, or Renewable Energy Credits for big projects (750 mWh+) that support a configurable mix of local and national wind, solar, hydro, or geothermal projects. A subscription option similar to a Power Purchase Agreement, as well as a construction option to help fund new renewable power plants, will be available soon. Meta will be the first customer to make use of the program.
Idaho is acknowledged as an attractive site for data centers due to its minimal risk of natural catastrophes, low energy prices, and a steady and available workforce. These features, together with Kuna’s access to infrastructure, renewable energy, and skill, convinced Meta that the site was ideal.
Work on the 960,000-square-foot complex is set to begin in September 2022, with completion due in 2025. The data center, which is expected to cost $800 million, is expected to bring more than 1,200 jobs to Kuna during peak construction and 100 operational employment. Meta will spend around $50 million of this money to build a new water and sewer system for the city, which Kuna will own and run.
In recent years, both Meta and Idaho Power have made promises to sustainable energy. The latter, which now uses hydropower to meet around half of its customers’ electrical demands, intends to achieve 100 percent renewable energy by 2045 with additional investments in wind and solar installations. Meta declared a target in 2018 to sustain its global operations with 100 percent renewable energy by the end of 2020. Meta has set its sights on decarbonizing its value chain as well as developing new renewable energy power plants to satisfy its rising electricity demands since reaching net-zero emissions across its own activities.