Reply With Quote
Hey Buddy Holly, are there going to be any new Chili's around this data center?
Zombie,
You're an idiot. BRAC has nothing to do with whether SA is a blue collar or a white collar town. I have lived in more than one military base town during BRAC closure hearings while my husband was active duty and blue collar towns fair just as well. It's about politics and location. They look at where they can consolidate the most functions the most efficiently.
As far as the MS Data Center. Even if it only employs 100 people it is going to bring much more to SA. If they use the amount of energy they are projecting in the article then that would mean an increase in jobs in our local energy industry. It would also be potential for other companies to relocate here to supply MS or for companies that are already here to increase staff to service MS. There will be lots of trickle down jobs as well. Businesses need everything...janitorial services, paper suppliers, catering services, etc.
Hey Buddy Holly, are there going to be any new Chili's around this data center?
You can probably bank on that. I think there are more Chili's than gas stations in SA.
Has the eastside (?) been developed yet?
Well, duh!
"Even if it only employs 100 people it is going to bring much more to SA"
After it's built (if local firms win the bids), it's a capital/energy intensive operation, not labor-intensive, at least not locally. They are locating here for geographical diversity (no other MS datacenter here or nearby), and for the cheap electricity, which is a huge operational cost.
I bet of the 100 jobs, 85 will be low-salaried screwdriver/cable/maintenance monkeys replacing bad gear, hooking up new gear (rack cabinets probably stuffed at distant factory), etc. All the really brainy design/tech jobs will be elsewhere, remotely administering the SA facility, from Redmond, India, etc.
I don't see the data center's monthly energy consumption creating a single job. The electricity comes from the CPS grid, not from illegal immigrants peddling away on exercise bicycles.
catering? for 100 people? janitorial? the air is filtered, no dirt let into the building.
The high-tech equipment will be shipped in from Cisco, Dell, HP, IBM, China, none of which designed or built here.
Hey, looks like you'll finally be able to get a job then.
Bouton hates San Antonio.
From what I've read of Boutons, he hates everything.
^already been used once today.
I'll believe you when your grammar's right. But until then, it's not a "done deal."
You mean the "they're all" portion of the post? You're right, I'm a collect dumbass, excuse me for preparing my brain to say one thing and having by fingers execute something else.
Now Ahole or ashbee, read up to they're all and imagine what I was originally going to say. It would have rhymed with “bull of bit."
Buddy Holly >>>> Ashbeigh.
Collect?
I'm just giving you crap. I'm sure your sources are better then whatever source I heard the information from.
I've been caught again. I type way too fast for my brain. I also screwed up on "my."
That's not very difficult to achieve.
Microsoft Building Green Data Center
Microsoft is using green technologies in its new data centers, including one in San Antonio.
Nancy Gohring, IDG News Service
Tuesday, July 31, 2007 09:00 AM PDT
Microsoft Corp. is relying on green technologies in its newest data centers, including one in San Antonio where it is breaking ground on Monday.
The San Antonio building, one of several in the works at various locations, will be 500,000 square feet and contain tens of thousands of servers, said Michael Manos, senior director of data centers at Microsoft. The company announced it would build the center in San Antonio earlier this year.
The first phase of the facility will be operational in July next year, he said.
Microsoft's software plus services and Windows Live initiatives are driving these construction efforts, which will support the online services, he said. Microsoft is not alone among Internet services companies building new facilities to support hosted services. Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. have also both announced development of new large data centers.
Microsoft uses 31 different criteria in choosing data center sites. While Manos couldn't describe them all for compe ive reasons, access to environmentally friendly resources is one.
In San Antonio, Microsoft plans to use recycled water, sometimes called gray water, in its cooling systems. The option, which allows the use of water that is not fresh or drinkable but is not contaminated by any toxic substances, is offered by the local utility. It is considered environmentally friendly because it reduces demands for fresh water and doesn't consume the energy required to purify it at waste water treatment sites.
In addition, a significant portion of electricity in Texas is generated by wind, and that clean source of energy was attractive to Microsoft, Manos said.
( ???? )
The San Antonio facility will be one-third the size of a massive data center that Microsoft is building in Quincy, Washington. That center will be nearly carbon neutral, meaning it doesn't produce more carbon than it consumes. Electricity used at the Quincy data center will be generated by hydroelectric plants, which are commmon in Western Washington. The center won't quite be totally carbon neutral, however, because the company uses diesel-powered generators for backup and must test those now and again, Manos said.
Last week Microsoft confirmed that its construction company in Quincy switched to biodiesel to fuel cement trucks and other equipment in order to solve a health and safety problem. At that site, builders erected the walls and ceiling of the structure before laying the floor. Cement trucks, originally using petrodiesel fuel, were letting off exhaust that would be harmful to workers who were inside the enclosed building. Switching to biodiesel, which has cleaner exhaust, solved the health and safety issue at the site.
Manos wasn't sure if Microsoft would continue to use biodiesel at the Quincy site or other locations. Generally, the company plans to continue using such green technologies. "There is a great alignment between going green and being economical," he said.
At some data centers, Microsoft has systems that use outside air, if it's cool enough, to help regulate the temperature in the building rather than solely using air cooling systems.
About 75 jobs will be available at the San Antonio facility. But Microsoft likes to consider the broader affect on local economies. The facilities often bring business to other nearby companies, such as those that might service generators. In addition, not long after Microsoft announced that it was building in Quincy, Yahoo and Intuit Inc. also decided to build data centers there.
Microsoft has other new data centers "in the works," but none that it is ready to talk about just yet, Manos said.
http://www.pcworld.com/printable/art...printable.html
That's the problem with modern data centers ... after you build them they don't bring many jobs to an area. But hey, construction workers make real money too and hopefully there will be more to come. SA's low utility costs (relative to Texas especially) help make them a player in the electric-intensive game.
And yeah, boutons_, Texas has more wind-powered electricity generation than any other state in the Union and lots more is coming on-line.
This happens as timvp is thinking about upgrading SpursTalk.
Coincidence?
I don't think so!
Do you believe in ending sentences with prepositions?
Just giving you a hard time. My grammer sucks.
You've never seen the wind farms in Galveston?
Microsoft talks of a $1 billion stake in S.A.
Web Posted: 07/30/2007 07:38 PM CDT
L.A. Lorek
Express-News Business Writer
Under mostly sunny skies Monday, a Microsoft Corp. executive conjured up the vision of a cloud to describe how the company's $550 million data center may lead to a $1 billion San Antonio investment.
The data center is a virtual cloud consisting of tens of thousands of computer servers that will contain the digital data for the world's largest software company. The 470,000-square-foot structure that Turner Construction Co. began building in April will contain Microsoft's digital brains.
And that may be just the beginning.
Microsoft has another identical building planned for San Antonio, said Debra Chrapaty, Microsoft's corporate vice president for global foundation services. The next phase could bring the software giant's investment in San Antonio closer to $1 billion.
"We're building the cloud," Chrapaty said. "The cloud is not the cloud in the sky, it's what we're about to break ground on in San Antonio."
The new building on a 44-acre site in Westover Hills will serve up e-mail accounts, Web pages, instant messages, photos, videos, software programs and search information to millions of Internet surfers worldwide. Microsoft has more than 280 million Hotmail customers, and its computer systems handle 8 billion message transactions per day, Chrapaty said.
Chrapaty, who wore a white shirt, khaki pants and cowboy boots, surveyed the job site with the rest of the Microsoft officials in a white stretch Hummer. She also operated the milling machine, which grinds up rock and dirt. Construction is well under way at the site, and the center is expected to go live by December 2008, Chrapaty said.
The San Antonio data center will look like a mirror copy of Microsoft's 470,000-square-foot data center in Quincy, Wash. That site went live a few months ago.
"We've been anticipating this day for months now," said John Montford, chairman of the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation. "In addition to all the construction work, this Microsoft data center is expected to employ 75 data center workers in some very good jobs."
It took more than two years to bring Microsoft's data center to San Antonio, but the effort paid off, said Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff. City and county officials, the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation, CPS Energy and the San Antonio Water System all worked together to bring the project here, he said. In San Antonio, Microsoft will receive $32.6 million in local incentives over 10 years.
Six City Council members turned out for the event, along with more than 100 officials and businesspeople.
"From the city of San Antonio, thank you for a $600 million investment in San Antonio, adding to the $6 billion in technology going on here," said Kevin Wolff, city councilman and mayor pro tem.
Mayor Phil Hardberger, who was unable to attend the event because of a delayed flight, said in a news release, "Microsoft's investment already has raised the profile of San Antonio as a place for technology companies to do business."
Already, San Antonio is forming a cluster of data center projects. Since Microsoft announced its plans in January, Christus Health, the National Security Agency and Stream Realty all have announced new data center projects. Lowe's Corp. also is building one in Westover Hills.
Charles "Marty" Wender, the developer of Westover Hills, is working with 15 other companies looking at sites for similar projects in San Antonio.
"Microsoft is like the gold standard," Wender said. "Getting endorsed by a company like Microsoft is huge."
CPS Energy plans to build a substation near the Microsoft site. Even with the addition of Microsoft, the utility has plenty of power left for other data center projects eyeing San Antonio, said Milton Lee, CPS Energy general manager and chief executive.
"We plan for customers all the time," Lee said. "I'm looking at electric and gas systems 20 to 30 years out."
In addition to the power, Microsoft will use 500 acre-feet per year of recycled water, said David E. Chardavoyne, chief executive and president of SAWS.
"Recycled water is a low-cost, environmentally proactive way to cool large buildings," he said.
Inexpensive power and access to water are two of the 30 criteria that Microsoft considered before choosing San Antonio, Chrapaty said.
"We spend a lot of time down in Austin," Chrapaty said. "We're really excited to be able to add to the technical community in San Antonio."
http://www.mysanantonio.com/business...t.29171ed.html
"a significant portion of electricity in Texas is generated by wind,"
anybody know the percentage?
Looks like there is some for SA, but significant portion?
http://www.awea.org/projects/texas.html
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
