State senators in Nebraska have decided that data centers could and should be a potential economic boon for small communities in rural parts of the state. State Senator Galen Hadley recently told Omaha's ABC television news affiliate that he and others in the legislature are hopeful that new government incentives will sweeten the deal for facility builders and operators.
Hadley said in a Nebraska.TV (NTV/ABC) report, "There are five cities that have pad-ready sites, so I hope we have five projects that come to Nebraska that come to five cities." Hadley made the data center incentive bill his priority for the legislature's 2012 session; the bill could reportedly soon go before the state's governor. Nebraska cities with tech parks include Kearney, Aurora, Fremont, and South Sioux City.
Additionally, the Omaha World-Herald is currently reporting that despite Omaha's dark horse stature the running for the huge and mysterious "Project Edge" data center, state commerce officials are seeking to amend the bill for the big data center to provide more generous tax incentives for smaller projects that would be more likely to locate in the Omaha metro area.
"This makes Nebraska more competitive," said Joseph Young of the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce. "We don't want to lose a project to Iowa."
Project Edge is reportedly considering eyeing Kearney, Neb., and a site in Iowa for a project that state officials said is difficult to comprehend due to its size, according to Omaha.com. The new project is said to be the biggest private investment ever sought by the State of Nebraska. The proposed facility is projected to be of a scale 10x larger than Yahoo's La Vista data center constructed in 2010. It would reportedly also become the state's single largest user of electricity.
More from ICW: OFC/NFOEC expands to address fiber-optic datacom trends
Links: Legislature Advances Data Center Incentives (nebraska.tv)
Omaha in race for data centers (omaha.com)
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