As the Beaver Dam Common Council considers selling a piece of of city-owned property for the city's second data center, backers of the project note it will be far smaller than the Meta data center under construction nearby.
The city may vote on the sale of the property to Oppidan Investment Company on April 6, although Beaver Dam City Administrator Larry Bielke said a couple of remaining discussion items remain, so it could be delayed to the April 20 meeting. Under the proposal, Beaver Dam would sell 13 acres for $31,000 per acre near the intersection of Highway 151 and Hemlock Road.
“The first phase of the Meta project will consist of multiple buildings," Beaver Dam Area Development Corporation Executive Director Trent Campbell said. "If Meta moves forward with a potential second phase, additional buildings would be constructed. The Oppidan project would consist of a single 90,000-square-foot building.”
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Campbell
Under the first phase of Meta’s development, the project could use up to 220 megawatts of energy, Campbell said. If the company moves to its full capacity, it is projected to have a maximum energy use of 400 megawatts.
The Oppidan site is projected to use up to 16 megawatts if it is constructed.
“It is smaller in every way,” Campbell said.
Meta Platforms — which owns Facebook and Instagram, among other social media and messaging platforms – is building a $1 billion, 700,000-square-foot facility on 830 acres north of Beaver Dam, between Highway A and Hemlock Road.
Oppidan is family owned and operated out of Excelsior, Minnesota. The project was introduced to the Common Council on Feb. 3.
The center would operate as an "edge" data center, meaning it processes and stores data closer to where it’s used rather than a central hub located farther away. “The goal is to reduce latency and optimize performance for time-sensitive applications,” said Pete Carbonneau, an associate developer for Oppidan.
Oppidan has developed multiple edge data centers across the country, Carbonneau said. The company will be acting as the landlord and the operator of this data center, he said.
Once complete, the center is expected to have a minimal tax value of $40 million.
“Qualified subcontractors will be hired locally as well as the full-time positions,” Carbonneau said.
Both data centers will benefit Beaver Dam, Campbell said.
“The taxable value is massive and will improve Beaver Dam’s future,” Campbell said.
