Dive Brief:

• Pegasus Group Holdings announced it is building $3 billion data center near Kingman, Arizona, which according to local officials, will be the largest solar-powered data center in the world.
• The data center will consist of a network of modified cargo containers, each housing 500 to 1,000 servers. Solar panels, according to the Mohave Valley Daily News, have started arriving on site. A 717-acre solar field, dubbed The Hive, which will provide power to the 340-megawatt facility, is being built by Pegasus, in partnership with Plus Minus Power.
• Pegasus said the director of economic development for Mohave County, Arizona, was instrumental in getting the project started on an accelerated timeline, which is one reason why it choose to locate in the county. Construction Dive was not able to reach Pegasus for further details.

Dive Insight:

Pegasus gave no indication as to who will be the ultimate user of the new facility, but the company says it owns and operates a wide variety of data for corporate clients.   

In a Pegasus press release, Bloom mentioned that the state’s "abundant sunshine" was one of the things that made Arizona an ideal location for the solar-energy powered facility, but solar-powered data centers are popping up all over the U.S., particularly for renewable energy-focused Facebook.

First Solar announced a few weeks ago that it will work with Rocky Mountain Power to support Facebook's new 122-megawatt Eagle Mountain data center in Iron County, Utah, Markets Insider reported. The new facility, which is expected to open in 2020, will be located near First Solar's Cove Mountain 2 solar power plant, which is expected to start construction this year and provide up to 1,100 temporary construction jobs at peak activity. 

Facebook's director of energy and infrastructure. Paul Clements, told Markets Insider that the Eagle Mountain project is part of the company's mission to power its data centers and offices with renewable energy.

Facebook's Atlanta-area data center, where the company is expected to invest $2.5 billion through 2029 on building and equipment alone, is will be 100% powered by solar, as will the first five buildings at its Prineville, Oregon center. 

And in New Mexico, the Public Service Co. of New Mexico is investing almost $50 million in the construction of three new solar plants to support Facebook’s Los Lunas, New Mexico data center, which is undergoing a $1 billion expansion.