MIT Team Weighs $100M Green Data Center

A proposed data center project in western Massachusetts has brought together MIT, The University of Massachusetts, Cisco Systems and EMC Corp., who plan to work jointly on developing a $100 million facility showcasing "green" technologies.

News of the data center initiative in Holyoke, Mass., which is scheduled to be announced Thursday, comes just three weeks after the unveiling of a project in Syracuse, N.Y. featuring similar cooperation between the private sector and academia. The Holyoke project will be a high-performance computing resource for academic and research institutions in Massachusetts, according to the Boston Globe.   

The Holyoke location would allow the data center to use hydroelectric power from the Connecticut River, and can access fiber routes along the nearby Mass Pike. The four partners would all participate in the funding, and may recruit additional participants as well.   

EMC is based in Hopkinton, Mass. while Cisco has a research center in Boxborough.  Paul Bosco, general manager and site executive for Cisco's New England Development Center in Boxborough, told the Globe that Cisco is participating in the project "not just for the center, but for the opportunity to build a district that could attract high tech by a combination of green and cost-competitive energy." 

"The potential for breakthrough technologies and research is enormous," Governor Deval Patrick said in a statement. "Both the center and collaboration will undoubtedly serve to lift up the city of Holyoke and regional economies throughout Western Massachusetts."