The Portland data center sector saw considerable growth within the past few years, with several new companies setting up shop in the area. In this way, Portland is quickly becoming a target location for companies seeking sites for data center facilities. Perhaps attracted by the multiple data center tax incentives offered, these companies grew their own service footprint and the overall market in Portland.
Telx Portland Data Center
In June 2013, Last year, global interconnectivity and cloud service provider Telx announced the opening of its new Portland data center. The company, known for its 100 percent uptime service- level agreement, dubbed the new structure PRT1. It was constructed to support continued demand for data center colocation and wholesale services for customers in the manufacturing, healthcare, information technology and communications, biotechnology and maritime industries.
Chris Downie, Telx president and chief financial officer, said the new data center is considered a milestone for the company as it further expands its offerings on the West Coast. It also opened a data center in Seattle around the same time.
The Oregon data center currently provides 18,000 square feet of white space, and can be expanded to make another 20,000 square feet available as necessary. The facility can support up to 4.5 megawatts of critical IT load, or client loads of 325 watts per square foot. The new structure also features a full 2N+1 uninterruptible power supply design, and has a power usage effectiveness rating of 1.3.
Fortune Facility
Fortune Data Centers joined Telx in the Portland area with the construction of its new facility in Hillsboro, a western suburb of Portland. The company now operates a 240,000 square foot facility on a 15 acre site in the area. The first phase represented an investment of more than 55,000 man hours, making available 7.8 megawatts of critical load capacity. The data center is also positioned near several fiber optic routes and is next to a major local power substation, providing adequate resources to support company and client needs.
Oregon Data Center Tax Incentives
Fortune said it decided to join the Portland data center market due to the area’s energy and communications infrastructure, as well as the availability of data center tax incentives. Besides making data center companies exempt from sales and business property tax in enterprise zones, organizations can also pass these savings on to their clients. A number of other well known companies, including Facebook, Google and Amazon, have already taken advantage of the incentives being offered in Oregon with their own data center projects.
“Sales tax on servers and equipment can add up quickly, so this favorable tax structure provides large savings for MTDC data centers and their tenants as they buy and replace their expensive IT equipment,” Fortune stated.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy additional tax credits offered to businesses in the state include advantages for companies employing alternative fueling infrastructures. These organizations could be eligible for a tax credit of up to 35 percent for their qualifying alternative energy infrastructure projects.
Furthermore, the state also boasts relatively low energy costs and favorable weather patterns, creating an ideal climate for data centers offering disaster recovery.
