Facebook chooses New Mexico for new data center over Utah
ALBUQUERQUE — Facebook has chosen a village on the edge of New Mexico’s largest metropolitan area as the location for its new data center, an announcement that spread quickly Wednesday as elected officials celebrated a hard-sought win that could have ripple effects for the state’s struggling economy.
News of the social media company’s decision to build in Los Lunas, just south of Albuquerque, comes after a roller-coaster contest between New Mexico and Utah to attract the facility.
U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich broke the news on social media, and the rest of the congressional delegation followed minutes later.
The courting of the Menlo Park company began more than a year ago with a meeting between the Republican governor and Facebook executives.
The complex economic development agreement also involves tax breaks on billions of dollars in computer equipment over time.
New Mexico officials have appeared eager to please Facebook after the state was hit hard by a downturn in the oil and natural gas sectors.
Santa Clara chipmaker Intel, meanwhile, has been cutting jobs at a major manufacturing plant that was an early beneficiary of similar property tax breaks using industrial revenue bonds.
Officials hope Facebook construction will spill over into other parts of the economy, including three industrial-scale solar power plants that would be built to offset electricity consumed by the data center.