[July 26, 2011] Adairville could land high-tech data center- Town on short list of possible TVA sites Tweet Jul 12, 2011 (News-Democrat & Leader - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Adairville is now poised to be on the cutting edge of technology thanks to a recent economic development study sponsored by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). A development site located on North Nashville Road in Adairville has been designated as a favorable area to place a "data center" project. A data center is specially designed facilities that house computer systems and components for Internet search engine companies, financial transaction processors, and other high-tech industries. "This ready-for-development primary designation gives our community a competitive edge when the next data center project is looking for an optimal site," said Tom Harned, Logan Economic Alliance for Development's Executive Director. "We thank TVA for providing this opportunity to participate in this valuable data center site identification program and are also very proud of our community team's diligent efforts to demonstrate this site is prepared for a potential future company." More than 50 sites across the TVA service area, which includes six states, were recently assessed for their capacity to accommodate data centers. To date, 18 sites have been named as ready for development in the TVA region, and TVA anticipates others will be evaluated as development-ready in the future. "That's a good thing for us, because this puts us into the top tier of potential sites," Harned said. "It's like being in the NCAA Tournament and we've made the sweet 16 -- or in this case, the sweet 18." Harned said that TVA is trying to market these 18 sites to companies that will be looking to build a data center, sometimes called server farms, in the TVA area in the coming months and years. "TVA has realized this is a coming thing," Harned said. "These are being built all around the country and they are a huge consumer for electricity -- not just the computers but the air conditioners that cool these buildings too." Harned said that so far, no data centers have been built in the TVA area, but the electricity producer is hoping to change that in the near future by marketing the 18 possible sites. The Adairville site was classified as desirable because of good availability of electricity, thanks to a nearby Pennyrile Electric substation and good Internet availability thanks to fiber-optic cables run through the area by Logan Telephone. "Reliable power is one of the key drivers to recruit the data center industry," said Eston Glover, President and CEO of Pennyrile Rural Electric Cooperative Corporation. "We are pleased to provide reliable power and be a partner who works to attract and grow companies in our community." "With the help of strong Universal Service policies and visionary leaders, we have been able to build a fiber-rich network that allows us to provide the reliable, high-capacity services that data centers require," said Greg Hale, General Manager of Logan Telephone Cooperative. "We look forward to working closely with TVA and LEAD to promote this site to potential investors and show why Logan County and our Cooperative service area are great places to grow a business." Harned said many people did not even realize that Logan Telephone had fiber optic cable running through Adairville. "I was very pleasantly surprised when I got here and found out the degree to which they, they ran fiber," Harned said. "It goes pretty much from Auburn to Adairville and back up to Lewisburg and Dunmor and then back to Auburn, giving them a loop. You need that in order to have one of these data centers." Harned said, depending on size, a data center could employ anywhere from 40 to 60 people. "And many of these jobs are for very highly trained individuals with degrees in computer science and electrical engineering," Harned said. "These are the kind of people you want in your community." The Logan Economic Alliance for Development (LEAD) supplied the information needed to bring the site to this level of preparation to become an optimal site for data centers or other companies. LEAD works with communities on economic development initiatives to prosper a population of over 27,000 citizens in Logan County, Ky. www.LoganLEADS.com For a map of sites and additional information about TVA's "Data Center -- Wired for Success" program, visit TVAed.com/datacenters. See details about the Adairville site at TVAsites.com. To see more of the News-Democrat & Leader, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.newsdemocratleader.com/. Copyright (c) 2011, News-Democrat & Leader, Russellville, Ky. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]