Peer 1 Building Toronto Data Center

IT hosting provider PEER 1 Network Enterprises (TSX:PIX) has begun building a 41,000 square foot data center in the Toronto area, the company said today. PEER 1 said the facility will be developed in four stages. The $10 million first phase is scheduled for completion in early 2010, and will include 7,500 square feet of data center space, and 8,000 square feet of office and staging area. The remaining 25,500 square feet of data center space will be built out in three future phases based upon customer demand and market conditions. The facility will have capacity for approximately 700 cabinet for colocation and 9,000 servers for managed and dedicated hosting, with the flexibility to adjust the services based on customer demand.

PEER 1 is designing the new facility to be energy efficient, and announced that it has joined The Green Grid, the industry consortium focused on data center energy efficiency. "Our philosophy is to develop the most efficient data center facilities possible, with increased power densities and high reliability that will help provide our customers with a base from which to grow their online businesses," said Fabio Banducci, president and CEO for PEER 1. "We believe the new facility will have a very positive impact on future growth and returns."

The new facility will use a local well for its primary water supply, with a redundant connection to the city water system. PEER 1 will also use of redundant high efficiency VFD centrifugal chillers and heat exchangers to take advantage of "free cooling" during colder months, providing significant energy savings.

"Our goal is to maximize energy efficiency across our data centers in all locations, with Toronto serving as our model sustainable facility from which we will continue to implement additional green initiatives," said Ryan Murphey, vice president of facilities & data center operations for PEER 1. "Along with the use of innovative power conservation strategies, PEER 1 continues to review reliable customer solutions that minimize environmental impact."