Microsoft official says Quincy is ideal for data center

EPHRATA — Grant County Public Utility District officials on Monday revealed new details about Microsoft Corp.'s initial plans in Quincy.

Microsoft expects to build a 720,000-square-foot data center complex, PUD officials said, utilizing an unknown number of buildings, but likely covering the company's entire 75-acre property within the Port of Quincy's industrial park area. Recently published reports suggested the site might grow to a 1.5-million-square-foot building complex.

Microsoft signed a facilities cost contribution agreement with the PUD, district spokesperson Sarah Morford said, giving the utility the go-ahead to begin construction on infrastructure necessary to serve Microsoft.

The utility expects to receive a payment of up to $2.7 million this week from Microsoft. The money, Morford said, is needed to begin the 12- to 18-month process of building infrastructure to serve Microsoft that includes a new substation, vaults and a transformer.

Quincy currently does not have enough excess capacity to serve a customer of Microsoft's size, she said.

District officials said the company has asked for an initial 36 average megawatts of power, but requested the utility build for an eventual peak of 48 megawatts.

They said Microsoft still has a 60- day due diligence period before fully committing. The district would be fully compensated for money spent during construction of power infrastructure on behalf of Microsoft, Morford said.

Microsoft spokesman Lou Gellos said the company is still closing plans on the Quincy data center so they don't have detailed information to make public.

"We are working on finalizing the purchase of the land to build the facilities in the area there," Gellos said.

"(The PUD's information released Monday) probably outlines the potential scope of our plans, but it's really premature for us to discuss the specifics because we're still working to finalize those plans."

Gellos did say that Quincy has characteristics the company seeks when trying to locate a data center facility.

Also, he said, "It's quite natural to gravitate to some place so close to our headquarters.

"There's the benefit of proximity, there's the benefit of Microsoft's imprint on the region, not just Grant County or Quincy, but in the state of Washington," he said. "So to site a data center there is great news for the state, great news for Quincy and it's wonderful news for us too."

Microsoft did not pick Quincy solely because it is in Washington, Gellos said.

He also listed Quincy's access to the PUD's fiber optic network and low cost power.

"Beyond that I can't share anymore detail because it's part of something we're in the process of evaluating ourselves," Gellos said.

A data center, he explained, serves as the infrastructure needed to move information on the Internet and houses the equipment needed to do so.

"(Data centers) are infrastructure and equipment for supporting the online operations that we have," Gellos said.