Google data centers 'manufacture Internet services'

"We’re like a large manufacturing facility, but what we manufacture is Internet services," Lloyd Taylor, director of operations for Google, said today, in publicly announcing the creation of a $600 million data center at Mid-America Industrial Park (MAIIP) in Pryor, Oklahoma, about 40 miles northeast of Tulsa.

Google pressures power companies for data center exemptions I reported last week about Google's maneuvering for economic advantage in its Oklahoma infrastructure dealings.

All has been resolved to Google's liking.

Google plans to convert an existing warehouse on an 800-acre tract of land the company purchased at the park. That facility will open in the summer of 2008. Later, the company will add a new building on the site, according to Times Record News reports.

Why is Google keen on MAIP for building out a new server farm?

"Save 20-70% on utilties and transmit new profits to your bottom line," so touts the MAIP: "Low-cost utilities are the single most competitive advantage that MidAmerica can offer your business."

Water
MidAmerica owns and operates the water treatment and distribution system, making it unique among industrial parks throughout the nation. Our treatment facility not only serves park industries, but three local communities and four rural water districts.

MidAmerica has vast on-site water storage facilities (19.5 million gallons) and a reliable source of water for replenishment. The water treatment plant has design capacity of 50 million gallons per day.

Wastewater
MidAmerica also owns and operates the wastewater treatment and collection system. Importantly, MidAmerica carries an umbrella NPDES permit for most industries in the park. These two features also make it unique among the industrial parks throughout the nation.

Electric
Electrical service to MidAmerica is provided by the Grand River Dam Authority (GRDA), a cost-of-service "public power" company.

GRDA's primary power generation facilities are located on-site at MidAmerica. Also, GRDA's Engineering & Transmission Headquarters are located in the park to assure short response times to meet unforeseen problems.

GRDA sells electricity at "wholesale rates" to MidAmerica industries. GRDA's total generating capacity is 1,520 megawatts, of which 34% is hydropower generation. The fact that GRDA is a public power company and has significant percentage of power generation in hydropower are two main reasons for low cost power.

GRDA generates electricity with coal and hydropower and NOT natural gas. Due to this fact, MidAmerica companies do not experience wildly fluctuating fuel cost adjustments when natural gas prices spiked to high double digit costs per Mcf during the past several years. Natural gas pricing can have a great adverse impact on the fuel cost adjustment that is reflected in electric rates.

Natural Gas
Everybody talks about gas deregulation. MidAmerica has it now. Enogex has a 16-inch line and Oklahoma Natural Gas Company's 18-inch high-pressure line within the Park boundaries. Again, these pipelines ensure truly competitive pricing for MidAmerica industries

Telecommunications
MidAmerica has all the service alternatives available on-site: broadband fiber and high-speed DSL including teleconferencing at OSU-Okmulgee, a branch of Oklahoma State University.

"Reduce costs and maximize profits" is the MAIP tag line, a very Googley sounding one!

ALSO: Google plots server farm land grab in Europe and
Google user data cloud: Do you trust it?