I edited the material in these posts down for a PNC letter to the editor, which appears as submitted below. A lot has happened in Page County on these matters just this week, so this material is almost moot at this point.
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Dear Editor,
Recently I finished a data center feasibility study, so I thought I would share some of what I learned. I’ll focus on just two elements of my concerns in this letter: the competition, and how quickly data center technology changes.
Digital Realty Trust and Terremark are nearby in Ashburn and Culpeper. Digital has an occupancy cycle of just six months, and has land and infrastructure for expansion. Terremark has a secure data center “outside the blast zone” up and running, with 50,000 square feet of space ready to go. Without signed agreements to occupy the data center before it is built, can Page County really expect compete with them in this marketplace?
Also, large data centers are obsolete in five years. Microsoft, Google, and Intel usually just sell off to other companies ready to “grow into” their hand-me-down facilities, and build new ones.
Sun, HP and other technology vendors have started using sea freight containers that don’t even need a facility to house them anymore. The containers cost as little as $500,000 each, and ten boxes may do the job the entire $16.5 million Page County data center can do as designed. By the way, people cannot work in these containers, and they add few technology jobs - they are simply replaced when they wear out.
With the County stretched so thin in so many ways, it doesn’t seem like Page County is ready to swing for the fences in the data center industry. It is hard to imagine that such a high risk, high cost idea is the one that is going to save our bacon. There are many low risk, low cost goals and objectives in the EDA Strategic Plan that are being ignored because of the data center hoopla – why not pick a few of these and go for some solid base hits?
Best regards,
“Cabin Jim”
3 comments:
Cabin Jim,
Once again, I want to thank you for your objective insight and information in your continuing series @ the EDA.It has helped me understand how involved the issues and actions of the EDA can be and should be.
My thinking is that the EDA should focus on developing the existing businesses in the county,assist the small entrepreneurs businesses here,seek out other small businesses, as well as,start-up businesses to locate here.Helping the smaller businesses to succeed would then, in turn,encourage the bigger businesses to also locate here.
Have you considered doing a series on the development of small businesses?
Purple-lady -
Thanks very much for your comment.
I'll get to thinking about that topic, and see what I can come up with.
Without going back to check the old posts, I recall that the EDA Strategic Plan, starting in 2004, had one of its goals to do a survey of the local small business community to find out their opinions on complementary businesses and other types of investment that was needed to support them.
As far as I know, this has never been done...but it has remained in the list of goals ever since.
I've always thought this was a case of low-hanging fruit, but a critical first step in getting things things laid in a plan
I've been super busy leading a Total Productive Maintenance initiative at work and making hay on the farm, I'm just catching up on your series on the data center. Great stuff! Spot on -- calling out the speculative nature of the plan. Seems to take care of the developers with little evidence that this will pay-off in long run.
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