infoTECH Feature

June 26, 2013

Microsoft Invests Nearly $700M in Iowa Data Center

The state of Iowa has always been known as the center of the so-called Corn Belt, earning it the nickname “The American Heartland.” But the Midwestern state is quickly earning a new reputation as the site of data centers for tech giants such as Microsoft (News - Alert), Facebook and Google.

In fact, the Iowa Economic Development Authority Board recently approved $20 million in tax credits for Microsoft, which plans to invest nearly $700 million in a data center in West Des Moines.

Microsoft’s project, dubbed “Project Mountain” throughout the application process, was awarded state incentives on June 21 by the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) Board.

The tech giant will be eligible to receive up to $20 million in tax credits, including $15 in a sales and use tax refund paid during construction and a $5 million investment tax credit, for completing the $677.6 million capital investment project in West Des Moines.

According to local officials, the project will create 29 new jobs, 24 of which are incented a qualifying hourly wage of $23.12, and more than 200 jobs during construction.

“We are proud to watch tech leaders like Microsoft choose to make significant investments in Iowa,” Governor Terry Branstad said in a statement.

The project expansion will house servers, networking equipment and office space needed to operate Microsoft’s cloud services. Infrastructure improvements to the West Des Moines location requiring additional capital investment will support the expansion, such as fiber and roads. Microsoft is also offsetting the gross carbon emissions from this data center by purchasing an equivalent amount of renewable energy credits.

Microsoft has over 200 of online and cloud computing services supporting one billion customers around the world, including MSN, Office 365, Xbox Live, Bing, Outlook.com, and Windows Azure. Microsoft, which is the first major technology company to build a data center in Central Iowa, has operated its West Des Moines facility since 2009.

Earlier this year, Facebook (News - Alert) announced plans to build a $300 million server farm in the state. In April, the state economic development board agreed to provide $18 million in tax credits for Facebook’s Altoona data center, according to the Des Moines Register. Google (News - Alert) has a $600 million data center in Council Bluffs and recently committed to a second $700 million center.




Edited by Alisen Downey
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