Pendleton cannot support a large data center because the city lacks the necessary power capacity.
Pendleton cannot support a large data center such as the recently proposed “Project Cowbell” because the city lacks the power capacity for such a center.
In order to lure a data center like Project Cowbell’s with a promise of 35 jobs, the city would need to make a $15 million upgrade to infrastructure.
A data processing center on the scale of Project Cowbell requires around 10 megawatts of power capacity. Pendleton and the surrounding area hit a peak daily usage of between 40 and 45 megawatts.
The city’s power grid has the potential to support seven additional megawatts if no upgrades are made, enough to power 2,100 homes.
“That seven megawatts of capacity is enough to handle 99 percent of the companies that would relocate there,” said Pacific Power regional manager Bill Clemens. He clarified that only a data processing center would require an upgrade to the grid.
The massive Facebook data processing center in Prineville utilizes 40 megawatts and Facebook is working with Pacific Power to triple that capacity, Clemens said.
Read more at the Gazette Times.
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