News

Two sites identified as ready for data center development

July 11, 2011 – Huntsville, Ala., and Adairville, Ky., have been identified as prime candidates for data center development. The two locations are the 17th and 18th sites identified in the Tennessee Valley as having attributes needed by data centers.

More than 50 sites have been evaluated by TVA and Chicago-based Deloitte Consulting for suitability for data center development.  To date, 18 have now been designated as prequalified sites.  Property attributes include accessibility, strong telecommunications infrastructure, and the availability of reliable electric power.

The Huntsville site is located on Beadle Lane SW in the Jetplex Industrial Park, and the Adairville site is located on North Nashville Road in Logan County, Ky.

“TVA’s economic development role is to help communities be prepared and promote their strengths to recruit data centers and other companies to our region,” said John Bradley, senior vice president of TVA Economic Development.  “The data center industry is growing rapidly and typically represents large investments in communities and provides well-paying job opportunities.”

Brooks Kracke, Huntsville-Madison County Airport Authority’s director of the Jetplex Industrial Park, said, “This ready-for-development primary designation gives our community a competitive edge when the next data center project is looking for an optimal site.” 

“Huntsville is a clean community with outstanding attributes that any company can enjoy,” said Bill Pippin, president and CEO of Huntsville Utilities.  “We are excited that we meet the site requirements for a data center and we can provide reliable power and communications to fulfill their needs.”

Tom Harned, executive director of the Logan (Ky.) Economic Alliance for Development, said, “We compete for every opportunity to strengthen our economy, and this official recognition of the advantages we offer data centers will help us bring high-quality jobs to the area.”

“Reliable power is one of the key drivers to recruit the data center industry,” said Eston Glover, president and CEO of Pennyrile (Ky.) 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.”

TVA cooperates with regional, state and local economic development leaders to proactively market designated data center sites as part of its regional target industry recruitment efforts.

View a map of the sites and additional information about TVA’s Data Centers: Wired for Success program.