Facebook is officially online and operational in Los Lunas. The new data center is being touted as something New Mexico has never seen before.
A little over two years after its groundbreaking, the new data center is basically a cloud storing billions of images, videos and other content for people around the world, helping them connect.
“We are happy to announce that Facebook’s Los Lunas Data Center is now serving traffic,” Vice President of Facebook Infrastructure Rachel Peterson said.
Plenty of local elected officials were on hand Thursday as Facebook announced it is officially online, although construction isn’t over yet. Only one building of six is operational.
At the moment, there are 150 employees in Los Lunas, and Facebook officials say that number will grow—something the governor is excited about.
“There are many folks who still have an impression around us that New Mexico is in fact, not competitive. Yes, we are, and we will continue to be competitive and this is just the beginning,” Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said.
After the announcement, KRQE News 13 got a behind-the-scenes look at the facility. Facebook showed how tens of thousands of servers make Facebook possible.
What’s more, the California-based company really prides itself on the energy efficient site. It’s large solar farm is just one example of that.
This is one of 15 Facebook data centers around the world—11 of those in the United States. The Los Lunas facility was the seventh to open.
Construction on the center is expected to last through 2023, with about 1,100 construction workers on site until it’s complete.
Los Lunas city officials have said a number of businesses that support data centers have inquired about moving to the area.
