FEATURE : DATA CENTERS
“ We encourage visionary companies like Green Energy Partners of Virginia who step up with efforts and resources as America leads the green energy movement in our world ,” said John Moorehead , Idaho National Laboratory .
Securing Virginia ’ s status as the world ’ s biggest data center market , state legislators are developing a new Mega Data Center Incentive Program , which includes up to a 15-year extension of existing sales and use tax exemptions for data center companies on qualifying equipment and software .
Conceptual Illustration of Surry Green Energy Center
Amazon Web Services ( AWS ) recently announced plans to invest US $ 35 billion in new data center campuses in the state – supported by new tax incentives and grants – on top of the US $ 35 million AWS has already invested in Virginia . With around 50 data centers , the fast-growing AWS US-East Northern Virginia cloud region alone is recognized as the largest single concentration of corporate data centers on earth .
H5 Data Centers , a national colocation and wholesale data center provider , recently broke ground on a three-story data center supporting 42 MWs of critical load across 255,000 square feet in Ashburn , VA . attractive to companies who want to expand and grow in a community which embraces sustainable carbonfree energy .”
The SGEC site has , by all accounts to date , the infrastructure and transmission attributes needed to produce and distribute hydrogen – with oxygen as the only by-product . The location also offers an ample water supply to produce hydrogen as well as for cooling . This facility will be a sustainable model nationally for green data centers , carbon-free electricity and hydrogen production . Surry County Economic Development and the Department of Energy ’ s Idaho National Laboratory have co-operated with knowledge and various levels of support as this first-of-its-kind green energy center is realized .
Key local , state and federal stakeholders have also been kept in the loop . Green Energy Partners of Virginia is aligning with the most accomplished SMR vendors , data center builders and hydrogen hub production experts to lead the world in these carbonfree energy goals . The SGEC project is estimated to create more than 3,000 jobs in the Surry area , boosting the local economy by generating millions of dollars in annual salaries and green energy revenue .
The center is pitched as responding to accelerating demand for large-scale data center space in top-tier markets , where immense growth of the market has made it difficult for cloud and technology companies to source scalable capacity .
Virginia offers a data center retail sales and use tax exemption ( DCRSUT Exemption ) on qualifying computer equipment or enabling software purchased or leased for use in certain data centers in the Commonwealth meeting minimum investment and job creation requirements including :
• The data center may be an enterprise or a colocation data center
• Prior to using the DCRSUT Exemption , a data center must enter into a Memorandum of Understanding ( MOU ) with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership ( VEDP ) outlining the terms and conditions of use
• A co-location data center will enter into an MOU permitting both the data center and its tenants , together , to qualify for and use the DCRSUT Exemption
The Statutory Minimum General Eligibility Thresholds include US $ 150 million new capital investment and 50 new locality jobs associated with the center ’ s operation or maintenance . p
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