New Data Center Developments: September 2024

We look at some of the latest data center developments announced over the past month.

James Walker, Senior Editor

September 3, 2024

7 Min Read
ESR Group has completed the first stage of its flagship data center project in Osaka, Japan.
ESR Group has completed the first stage of its flagship data center project in Osaka, Japan.Image: ESR Group

The demand for new data centers isn’t showing any sign of slowing. With new projects being announced each week, keeping track of the latest data center developments is not always easy.

To keep you informed about the latest data center news involving design, construction, and related developments, we bring you the highlights from the past month.

This curated selection will help you stay on top of the latest data center development news with ease.

A rendering of Novva Data Centers’ facility in Mesa, Arizona.

North American Data Center Deals

Green initiatives dominated data center industry headlines over the past month, led by Meta’s announcement that it signed an agreement with geothermal energy company Sage Geosystems to power its data center growth and expand the tech giant’s renewable energy use. 

The deal will provide Meta’s operations with up to 150 MW of new geothermal power. Although the location has not yet been confirmed, the first phase of the project is expected to be operational and online in 2027.

In Arizona, Tract acquired a 2,069-acre parcel of land in Buckeye that will house “one of the largest data center parks in the US” with up to 20 million sq ft of space across 40 facilities. 

The operator is currently working with the local utility on plans for long-term growth with new power infrastructure which could support up to 1.8 GW. 

Related:New Data Center Developments: August 2024

Meanwhile, Novva Data Centers is developing a 300 MW data center facility on 160 acres of land in southeast Mesa. The $3 billion investment will have 96 MW of critical IT load and a target launch date of 2026. Located just east of Phoenix, Mesa is already home to Meta’s sprawling data center campus

Skanska signed a contract with an as-yet-unnamed customer to build a new data center also in Arizona. The $153 million contract will see the development of a single-story data center totaling approximately 250,000 sq ft. 

Elsewhere, T5 Data Centers unveiled plans to expand its Atlanta footprint with the development of a new data center campus in South Fulton County, Georgia. Already zoned for data center use, the facility is scalable to support up to 300 MW of power capacity. 

The construction of a $1.1 billion AWS data center was approved by the St Joseph County Council in Indiana by a 7-2 vote. While advocates point to the project’s potential to create jobs and contribute to the local economy, opponents criticized a 10-year, $4.2 billion tax break for one of the world’s richest corporations.

In Missouri, TierPoint acquired a building in downtown St. Louis, to establish its newest data center facility. Constructed in 1917 as an automobile dealership and distribution center for the Willys-Overland Company, the building offers 22,600 sq ft of data center production space and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Related:Financing for New Data Center Construction: An In-Depth Guide

Edged Energy continues its expansion across the States with a 24 MW project in the Columbus, Ohio area. Already under development, the 210,000 sq ft facility, which will support generative AI and advanced computing demands, is scheduled to open in July 2025.

Texas-based Data Journey acquired the former Bed Bath & Beyond data center in North Carolina’s Catawba County, where its onsite team converted the building from a purpose-built enterprise data center into a colocation facility. 

Stonepeak formed a joint venture with American Tower to construct a new data center in Denver, Colorado. The 18 MW DE3 facility will be constructed on a modular basis over three 6 MW phases at a total estimated cost of $250 million. Once complete, the campus will be operated by American Tower subsidiary CoreSite

More North American data center news:

Related:Data Center Vacancy Rate Hits Record Low in H1 2024 – CBRE

Cirion Technologies has acquired a parcel of land next to its existing data center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Latin American Data Center Developments

In Latin AmericaScala Data Centers, which recently inaugurated the second phase of its Tamboré data center campus in Brazil, partnered with energy firm Serena in what’s claimed to be the largest renewable energy supply agreement in Latin America. 

Under the terms of the partnership, Serena will supply renewable energy generated by two wind farms in Brazil to power Scala’s data centers in Latin America. 

Staying in Brazil, Cirion acquired a 15,000 sq m parcel of land next to its existing data center in Rio de Janeiro to support the expansion of its operations in the region. The new parcel of land will support a 60 MW carrier-neutral data center, RIO2.

European Data Center Developments

Google has been refused permission to build a data center just outside Dublin for failing to meet some of Ireland’s sustainability requirements. The tech giant’s plan to develop a 780,000 sq ft data storage facility was rejected by South Dublin County Council. 

Netwise commenced the next major phase of development and expansion at East London data center. “We’re facilitating this expansion by pushing into the adjacent building on the Datapoint estate, which sits alongside our existing four-hall facility,” the company said. “This will result in a single expanded facility housing six high-specification data halls.”

In Switzerland, Green announced it is developing another high-performance data center on its Zurich West campus. The facility will be home to more than 5,500 sq m of new data center space for energy-efficient high-performance computing.

TSMCBoschInfineon, and NXP established a joint venture to bring advanced semiconductor manufacturing to Europe. The partnership will see the construction of a chip fabrication facility in Dresden, Germany.

Vantage Data Centers has broken ground on its 256 MW Cyberjaya campus in Malaysia.

Asia-Pacific Data Centers Builds

In Asia-Pacific data center news, ESR Group has completed the core and shell of its flagship data center project, ESR Cosmosquare OS1 Data Centre (OS1), in Osaka, Japan. The facility is the first hyperscale data center asset within ESR’s 130 MW campus.

Zettabyte, an AI data center software and systems technology provider, has partnered with Wistron Corporation to build what’s claimed to be Taiwan's first hyperscale AI data center.

“By combining our expertise and IaaS software, we aim to create a world-class AI computing facility that will drive innovation and growth in the AI sector, not just in Taiwan but across the entire Asia Pacific region and the Middle East," said Kenneth Chung-Hou Tai, chairman of Zettabyte.

Princeton Digital Group acquired a Yahoo data center in western Singapore for an undisclosed price tag. According to a Tuesday press release, Yahoo will continue to host its infrastructure at the 5 MW facility near Jurong Port.

Meanwhile, in India, Aurum Equity Partners, a real estate investment firm, announced plans to build a 100 MW $400 million AI-powered green data center in Hyderabad.

“Our next-generation data center framework is designed to bridge the digital divide between rural and urban India. This initiative will make government services such as e-Seva, e-Payment, and e-Education accessible to all, supporting our mission to connect every corner of the nation,” said Aurum CEO and Chairman Venkat Bussa.

Vantage Data Centers broke ground on KUL2, its second Cyberjaya campus in Malaysia. Set on 35 acres of land adjacent to Vantage’s existing campus, KUL2 will deliver 256 MW of IT capacity at full build-out to support cloud adoption and the growth of artificial intelligence.

Macquarie Asset Management agreed to acquire the Hanam Data Centre located in the Greater Seoul Area of South Korea for around $530 million, and Amazon is expanding its cloud service in Malaysia with a new AWS region.

More Asia-Pacific data center news this month:

  • CtrlS acquired a new land parcel in Patna, India, for a 10 MW data center.

  • Star Energy Geothermal is in talks to supply clean power to data centers in Indonesia if developers can build them near its geothermal power plants.

  • BDx launched the first phase of its 500 MW facility in Jatiluhur, Indonesia. 

  • Google is planning a $200 million data center in Fiji.

Raxio has cut the ribbon on its latest African data center.

Middle East and Africa Data Center Investments

Raxio Group opened what’s claimed to be the biggest data center in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Located in Kinshasa, the 1.5 MW DRC1 facility was backed by a $30 million investment and can house up to 400 racks.

Elsewhere, Omantel, a leading telecommunications company in Oman, announced the launch of its second-largest data center in the region.

Oracle launched its second public cloud region in Saudi Arabia. The new Riyadh cloud region is aimed at boosting Saudi Arabia’s AI economy, which is expected to reach $135 billion by 2030.

About the Author

James Walker

Senior Editor, Data Center Knowledge

James Walker is the Senior Editor of Data Center Knowledge. He has nearly two decades of experience writing for business and technology publications, with a focus on translating technical issues to make them more accessible and engaging.

Before joining DCK, James was editor of The Daily Swig, an award-winning cybersecurity news website, and his work has been featured in The Times and BBC Online, among other publications.

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