Facebook is building a big new $750 million data center in Alabama (FB)

Facebook has got big plans for a new $750 million data center in Huntsville, Alabama.

On Thursday, the social networking giant announced it was building a new 970,000 square foot facility in Huntsville, a city in the northern part of the US state.

"As a growing tech hub, Huntsville seemed like a natural fit for Facebook," the company wrote on a new Facebook post dedicated to the planned data center. "It also provides reliable access to renewable energy, strong local infrastructure, a great set of community partners, and very importantly, an outstanding pool of talent."

A Facebook spokesperson confirmed to Business Insider that it is investing $750 million in the project.

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The Birmingham Business Journal previously reported Alabama governor Kay Ivey as saying the average salary at the completed center will be $80,000, and it will create 100 new jobs.

It should be up and running by 2020, Facebook said.

The new Huntsville facility will join Facebook's sprawling network of data centers across America and around the world, that host its reams of user data and power its apps and services.

Today, we are excited to be in Huntsville to announce our newest data center. As a growing tech hub, Huntsville seemed like a natural fit for Facebook. The site, located in Northern Huntsville, is shovel-ready and allows us to break ground this year. It also provides reliable access to renewable energy, strong local infrastructure, a great set of community partners, and very importantly, an outstanding pool of talent.

This 970,000 square foot facility will host many of the videos, photos, and news articles you see on your Facebook feed every day. And once it becomes operational in 2020, it will help us continue to provide a great experience for people here in Alabama and people around the world.

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But it's not only about the impact online, we are also committed to having a positive impact on this community. These data centers are real economic engines - and beyond just the four corners of the site. We are proud to say a recent study found that for every 1 million dollars in operating expenses at our data centers, there are 13 jobs supported in the economy. And for every 1 million dollars in capital expenditures, there are more than 14 jobs supported in the economy.

Facebook is also committed to powering our data centers with 100% clean and renewable energy. That is why we worked with the Tennessee Valley Authority to establish a renewable energy tariff that will let qualifying customers, not just Facebook, buy new renewable resources. We are also working closely with them to identify new solar projects in the area that will power 100% of our facility.

Over the coming years, we will continue to work on the foundational technologies needed to bring the world closer together - and the Huntsville Data Center will be a part of that.