C7 Initiates Plans to Expand Its Utah Data Center


Detail of blade server system
Bluffdale, UT-based data center operator C7 Data Centers recently announced the beginning of Phase 2 constructions at its flagship Granite Point II Utah data center.

According to a May 22 Data Center Knowledge article, Phase 2 will add an additional 30,000 square feet to C7’s facility, and is projected to be completed by October 2015. Currently, the company’s 35,000 square-foot facility, which opened in 2013, is nearing its capacity.

In addition to upping its data capacity, C7 will expand its data center’s power capacity during Phase 2 construction. When Phase 2 is complete, C7’s Granite Point campus will boast more than 11 megawatts of power capacity to serve the 250,000 square-foot campus. The company has an additional onsite substation planned for 2016, which will add more than 20 megawatts of power capacity, TechRockies reports.

The Granite Point data center’s location in the cold Utah desert provides an advantage for efficiently keeping its servers cool. The server manufacturing industry, a $14 billion economic powerhouse, is notorious for creating machines that can generate enough heat energy to warm several homes.

The center employs a combination of ambient air and cold air containment and actuated cooling to regulate its server room temperatures. And because of Granite Point’s cooling efficiencies, C7 reports it can deliver as much as 75 – 80% of its power capacity to the critical load versus the industry average of 50 to 60%.

Over the last few years, Utah has become a prime location for data centers, given its low energy rates, ambient air cooling capabilities and low risk profile for new ventures. C7 CEO Wes Swenson said Granite Point II stands apart from its competition as a result of Utah’s favorable climate for data centers.

“Granite Point II is an extreme departure in data center design from the typical industry standard; in its aesthetic, ‘just in time’ effectiveness and efficiency in provisioning and cooling,” Swenson said in a release. “We have had an overwhelming response to the product; it’s not like anything else in the market.”


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