Microsoft to build giant data center
Microsoft is to build another large data center, this time in Virginia, despite scaling back plans for an earlier facility in Iowa.
Microsoft will spend $499 million to build a data center in Mecklenburg County in Southern Virginia, the state's Governor Bob McDonnell announced in a statement Friday. About 50 people will work at the facility.
McDonnell said Virginia beat out North Carolina and Texas for the deal. The facility will be one of Microsoft's Generation 4 data centers, meaning it will be built primarily with containers filled with servers. Microsoft first described its Generation 4 data centers in 2008, saying the modular setup would allow for energy efficiency, cost savings and quick deployment.