Honda Plans Data Center in Colorado

Honda will spend $20 million to build a 60,000 square foot data center in Longmont, Colo., the Longmont Area Economic Council said Friday. Honda has purchased 11 acres of land at the Boulder County Business Center at 1601 Dry Creek Drive in Longmont to house a Tier 3 data center.

Honda chose the site because Northern Colorado is less susceptible to natural disasters than other areas with adequate power supplies, according to John Cody, president and CEO of the Longmont Area Economic Council, who said the local work force also has strong information technology skills.

Tony Piazza, American Honda's assistant vice president of human resources, told local media that Longmont was selected "first, for the cost of energy, because we're incredibly competitive in that regard. Second was the availability of the workforce."

The site is adjacent to an electrical substation, which will be expanded next year by it owners, the Longmont Power & Communications, the city of Longmont and Platte River Power Authority. "Initially, what they told us is they would need about 5 megawatts of power," said Bill Ewer of the Longmont Power & Communications, which would be only slightly less than what Amgen and Seagate Technology use in substantially larger facilities.