Microsoft could build a data center in Cherry Valley, bringing dozens of well-paying, permanent high-tech jobs to the region.
The international technology company, headquartered in Redmond, Washington, plans to unveil its planned data center – a hub of computer servers that form the backbone of cloud computing and online communications – on August 19 during an open house from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Tebala Event Center, 7910 Newburg Road in Rockford.
Microsoft is expected to unveil more detailed plans for the project during the open house, said Jim Claeyssen, Cherry Valley town manager.
“There will be a number of workplaces and from my research they are a quiet neighbor,” said Claeyssen. “In the early years of these data centers, a lot of water was used for cooling, but that is no longer the case. From what I have seen, a center similar to the one they are proposing might only use as much water as 30 households use daily for cooling.”
Although data centers were once known for consuming large amounts of water, modern data centers recycle and reuse water to cool microchips, according to Microsoft.
“Our data center designs minimize water use and use outside air for cooling when possible,” Microsoft said. “Our newest GPU data centers use no water for cooling after they are operational and require minimal water usage for employee use.”
In addition to the construction work required to build the data center, the data center would need to hire computer technicians, computer engineers, logistics managers, and others. Microsoft says there are typically 50 people working in each data center building.
Microsoft and the White House announced plans in May for a $3.3 billion artificial intelligence data center campus in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, that would create 2,300 union construction jobs and 2,000 permanent technology jobs.
Jeff Kolkey writes about government, economic development and other issues for the Rockford Register Star. He can be reached at (815) 987-1374, by email at [email protected] and at X. @jeffkolkey.
