March 28, 2024

Kelley, Black attend Facebook Data Center groundbreaking

State Representative Dan Kelley of Newton and State Senator Dennis Black of Sully both attended a groundbreaking with other state officials for the new Facebook data center in Altoona.

In locating in Iowa, Facebook cited Iowa’s quality workforce and abundance of wind power.

“Facebook’s data center is a great addition to Iowa and I’m pleased this project is just down the road from Newton.  It has great potential for our local businesses and will give our wind power industry another boost to create good jobs,” Kelley said.

“With a huge capital investment and good-paying jobs, the Facebook data center is great news for Iowa’s economy.  The new high-tech jobs at Facebook will benefit small and large communities in the area,” Sen. Black said.

Eventually, the company plans to invest $1.5 billion for three data centers totaling 10.4 million square feet. The data center is expected to create quality jobs at an average wage of $23.12 an hour. Facebook officials are considering building their own wind farm to power the data center.

On Tuesday, the Iowa Economic Development Authority approved $18 million in state tax credits for the project.