Facebook opened its first data center in Prineville in 2010. The company currently has plans for a third. The town also hosts an Apple facility, and officials say they'd like to see two more data centers in the area.
Sage Van Wing / OPB
Each of Facebook's two data centers in Prineville, Oregon, is a little bit longer than an aircraft carrier.
Sage Van Wing
More than 800 million people use Facebook every day, and their data gets stored in rows upon rows of servers at data centers, like the one in Prineville.
Sage Van Wing / OPB
Facebook says the facility is one of the most energy efficient data centers in the world. Still, the building uses as much energy as all of the other homes and businesses in Crook County combined.
Sage Van Wing / OPB
The power purchased by Apple and Facebook generates franchise fees for the city of Prineville. In Facebook's case, that brings over $1 million to the city's budget every year.
Sage Van Wing
Both Facebook and Apple built their data centers in Prineville's business enterprise zone. That means they pay taxes on their property, but not on the value of improvements for the first 15 years. The details of enterprise zone contracts remain largely secret.
Sage Van Wing / OPB
In the hot summer months, outside air is cooled with a pressurized mist before circulating through the facility.
Sage Van Wing / OPB
The city of Prineville passed a resolution Wednesay in support of a tax deal for a new Facebook data center.
Facebook already has two data centers inside Prineville city limits. The new agreement between the company and the city means they're likely to build a third.
The deal allows certain property taxes to be deferred for 15 years. In exchange, Facebook provides a lump sum payment to the city in lieu of taxes each year.
Prineville Mayor Betty Roppe said she's glad to have Facebook expand.
"They are increasing their business here. They're increasing the number of employees that they will have," said Roppe. "We will be receiving more revenue. It's something that is beneficial to the city."
Facebook would not yet confirm plans for the third data center, but the company sent OPB a brief statement on Wednesday's resolution:
"Facebook very much appreciates today’s decisions by the Prineville City Council and Crook County Commission. We expect to make a final decision about a third building in Prineville by the end of the month.”
Roppe said she expects Facebook's building application to come through soon.
Central Oregon's climate and cost of land make the area an attractive choose for companies that need server storage. Since there's no sales tax in Oregon, companies have lower costs than in other states. And Oregon lets local governments give exemptions from property taxes.
"What we reap from having them here has been a blessing," said Roppe.