Yahoo Plans Data Center in Switzerland

Internet portal Yahoo (YHOO) has purchased land in Avenches, Switzerland for a $30 million European data center, according to a Swiss media report. Yahoo is said to have paid $4.05 million for 387,500 square feet of land in Avenches, a town about 50 miles north of Lausanne. Yahoo had also been considering a site in Yverdon, another town near Lake Neuchatel, but chose Avenches because of cheaper power costs.

Like search competitors Google (GOOG) and Microsoft (MSFT), Yahoo has been building a global network of data centers to power its search operations and consumer web applications. Its most prominent data center projects have been in Wenatchee, Washington.

The Swiss site poses unusual construction considerations, as the Avenches area is known to have Roman ruins underground. According to the terms of Yahoo's contract, the company has the right to break the agreement with the city of Avenches if archeological problems delay construction.