Yahoo! breaks ground on $150 million expansion in Lockport, NY

by Lorrie Abounader, Business Development Manager

On October 18, internet giant Yahoo! broke ground on the expansion of their Lockport, NY data center.  Their current facility that opened in 2010 is roughly the same size as the deck of the aircraft carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan.  The expansion will add another 150,000 square feet and use 7.2 megawatts of power, enough to power half a million homes.  Typically a data center that size would use more power and water to run and cool the server rooms but Yahoo! chose the Western New York region for it’s cool climate, allowing the ambient air to circulate through and cool the computer equipment.  This is an enormous cost savings for the data center.  Operating costs are dramatically reduced on top of the low-cost power awarded through the New York Power Authority.

The groundbreaking was well attended by elected officials, economic development representatives and local businesses as Yahoo! has been a great neighbor to the business community.  Local business may experience an uptick in activity as the expansion will provide at least 115 more jobs in the future through the establishment of Yahoo!’s customer care contact center on the campus.  Yahoo! refers to the department that resolves customer issues their “center of excellence” as these employees are the first line to giving Yahoo! users a great customer experience.   Due to the fact that Yahoo! is extremely happy with the quality of the talent recruited, company execs consider their Lockport facility the one they could replicate into all their data centers worldwide.

Click here to learn more about the previous Yahoo! Data Center expansion in 2010 and here to view a video about their expansion.

Click here to read about Data Center opportunities in Buffalo Niagara.

Green, Clean Hydropower puts Yahoo! on Top

It’s no secret that data centers are energy hogs and there is growing concern regarding their environmental impact. Companies choosing to reduce their carbon footprint and use renewable energy sources are getting praise from environmental advocates – and realizing a significant cost savings.

A recent report by Greenpeace, “How Dirty Is Your Datacenter” gave Yahoo! high marks for locating their data center facilities in sites where they can access renewable electricity such as hydropower.  Read a recap of the study on Forbes: “Apple Data Centers Use Least Clean Energy, Yahoo! Most”.

Yahoo!, opened its state-of-the-art, $150 million data center in Lockport, NY last September and has started work on Phase II.  Key factors Yahoo! used to evaluate their site location included the region’s physical characteristics, such as abundant fresh water resources, climate advantages and green, clean hydropower.  In 2009, Yahoo! had committed to moving away from a carbon neutral policy and the western New York location supported their commitment to reduce their operational footprint through clean energy as well as energy efficiency improvements. Yahoo! has boasted their Lockport location as a multi-million dollar cost savings due to the ambient air cooling and hydropower allocations.

The Buffalo Niagara region has potential data center locations available similar to the site chosen by Yahoo!. The high-tech friendly sites include more than 4,600 acres, all situated in close proximity to power transmission and within approximately 25 minutes of the Buffalo Niagara International Airport.

– Lorrie Abounader

Business Development Manager

Buffalo Niagara Enterprise