Meta to Build One Million-Square-Foot Data Center in Kansas City

<p>Meta Platforms &&num;8212&semi; the parent company of Facebook&comma; Instagram and WhatsApp &&num;8212&semi; plans to build a nearly one million-square-foot data center in Kansas City&comma; investing more than &dollar;800 million and supporting up to 100 jobs&period; The data center&comma; a first of its kind in Missouri&comma; is expected to be operational in 2024&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;We’re proud to welcome Meta to Kansas City&comma; Missouri&comma; for this historic&comma; cutting-edge development that will positively impact our state’s economy for years to come&comma;” Missouri Governor Mike Parson said&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;The Show-Me State stands out as a rising technology hub due to our strategic location&comma; skilled workforce&comma; and business friendly climate&period; This unprecedented investment signals Missouri is open for business and that our state is a prime destination for high-tech leaders and innovators alike&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Meta’s data center will be located in Kansas City’s<a class&equals;"ext" href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;urldefense&period;com&sol;v3&sol;&lowbar;&lowbar;https&colon;&sol;www&period;diodeventures&period;com&sol;projects&sol;gptp&lowbar;&lowbar;&semi;&excl;&excl;EErPFA7f--AJOw&excl;Xbctq1AZDw7q2U7mtgDSWu0EwHpshwFyAAt6tOXeaYtRbhza51e-Zs8S5lSoCsFbQfKIKk7mDs2bVQ&dollar;" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener" data-extlink&equals;""> <&sol;a><a class&equals;"ext" href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;urldefense&period;com&sol;v3&sol;&lowbar;&lowbar;https&colon;&sol;www&period;diodeventures&period;com&sol;projects&sol;gptp&lowbar;&lowbar;&semi;&excl;&excl;EErPFA7f--AJOw&excl;Xbctq1AZDw7q2U7mtgDSWu0EwHpshwFyAAt6tOXeaYtRbhza51e-Zs8S5lSoCsFbQfKIKk7mDs2bVQ&dollar;" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener" data-extlink&equals;"">Golden Plains Technology Park<&sol;a>&comma; a 5&period;5 million-square-foot data center campus&period; The site will be supported by 100 percent renewable energy&comma; ranking it among the most sustainable data centers in the world&comma; and add additional renewable energy to the region’s local grid&period; The facility will achieve net-zero carbon emissions and&comma; on average&comma; use 32 percent less energy and be 80 percent more water-efficient than the industry standard&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Meta is excited to call Kansas City our new home&period; It stands out with so much to offer – good access to infrastructure and fiber&comma; a strong pool of talent for both construction and operations&comma; and more than anything&comma; great community partners&comma;” said <strong>Darcy Nothnagle&comma; Director of Community and Economic Development at Meta<&sol;strong>&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Meta is committed to being a good neighbor and investing in the long-term vitality of the region for years to come&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Meta chose to locate the facility in Kansas City for its central location&comma; which offers improved network connectivity between coastal data centers&period; The Kansas City region also provides greater security&comma; decreased risk of natural disasters and other threats&comma; competitive energy prices&comma; and options for renewable energy&period; Due to these and other advantages&comma; the area is the third fastest-growing technology market in the nation&period; Kansas City has already ranked among the best cities for startups in the country&comma; and provides a wide talent pool with the skills needed for technology jobs&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>For the building of its new data center&comma; Meta plans to use the Data Center Sales Tax Exemption Program&comma; a tool that incentivizes the location and expansion of data centers in Missouri&period; The Data Center Sales Tax Exemption Program was created by the Missouri General Assembly in 2015&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;