News

Thirteenth site selected for data center development

November 10, 2010 – Deloitte Consulting has designated Grenada, Miss., as a 13th prime Tennessee Valley site for data center development in the TVA data center initiative.

Twelve sites — located in Athens, Tenn.; Bristol, Tenn.; Duffield, Va.; Fayetteville, Tenn.; Guntersville, Ala.; Hartselle, Ala.; Jackson, Tenn.; Lenoir City, Tenn.; Maryville, Tenn.; Murfreesboro, Tenn.; Olive Branch, Miss.; and Tullahoma, Tenn. — had previously been identified by Deloitte economic development surveys as prime candidates for development.

Data centers house the computer systems and components, such as telecommunications and storage systems, used by processors of financial transactions, Internet search engines, and other high-tech industries. Criteria for selection of the sites included accessibility, strong telecommunications infrastructure, and availability of reliable electric power.

Grenada, which had been reviewed earlier, continued to make improvements on a site located on Paper Mill Road in the north-central Mississippi community. Grenada submitted this information to Deloitte for reevaluation and was included on the primary list.

TVA contracted with Deloitte to evaluate Valley sites. TVA is partnering with local power distributors and regional, state and community economic development leaders to begin marketing the sites as part of a data center recruitment initiative.

“Demand for data centers is growing as increased use of electronic commerce and information technologies requires more data storage space,” said John Bradley, senior vice president for TVA Economic Development. “Data centers provide highly-skilled, good-paying job opportunities.

Bradley said other sites reviewed during the initial process are working to fulfill the criteria, and he expects more locations will be identified as primary sites after they are assessed a second time.

For a map of this location and all sites to date, visit TVAed.com/datacenters.