Aligned Data Centers, a division of Aligned Energy, has announced the grand opening of its inaugural, ultra-efficient data center in Plano, TX, during a ribbon-cutting ceremony with local elected officials, partners, and business leaders.
With the first phase complete, the Aligned Plano data center, situated on a 19-acre campus at 2800 Summit Avenue, offers 108,000-sq-ft of space and 12.5 megawatts (MW) of power. At full build, the site will provide 300,000-sq-ft of space and 30 MW of power.
What makes the Aligned Plano data center unique is not how much space and power it offers, but rather how little water the data center uses. Similarly sized traditional data centers consume approximately 51 million gallons of water per year — enough to fill 77 Olympic-sized swimming pools. The Aligned Plano data center utilizes an advanced cooling system that consumes up to 85% less water — a significant savings and enough to support more than 460,000 households’ daily water use.
“Aligned Data Centers' entry into Plano is yet another powerful example of an innovative and emerging company that chooses to call our City of Excellence home,” said Mayor Harry LaRosiliere. “The technology that Aligned has developed to ‘green’ a data center industry and reduce wasting huge amounts of water and energy cannot be understated. It is appropriate they chose Plano, a city known for leadership in sustainability efforts and we look forward to seeing them lead those same efforts in their industry.”
In addition to the water savings, the Aligned Plano data center employs the latest power infrastructure, which delivers unmatched reliability and agility. Capable of supporting dynamic power densities from 1 to 25 kW per rack, customers can control the scale of their data center without having to add more space or reconfigure their existing racks.
Aligned Data Centers’ ultra-efficient infrastructure allows it to do something its competitors can’t – guarantee a PUE of 1.15. By comparison, most multi-tenant data center providers operate at a PUE of 1.3 or higher. A higher PUE translates into a higher monthly power bill for the customer.
“I am proud of the work our team has done to bring this data center online,” said Jakob Carnemark, CEO for Aligned Energy. “For years, the industry has been asking for a better way to deliver reliability, efficiency, and agility in the data center. I’m happy to announce that the day has come.”
Aligned Data Centers is the first to offer consumption-based pricing for colocation. The company claims that it can minimize the upfront commitment for power and space by up to 70% by not locking customers into a fixed ramp schedule and charging on a pay-for-use basis. “Our clients will now have the control and flexibility they have been asking for, while enjoying the peace of mind that their data center is operating at peak performance and efficiency,” said Carnemark.
While all eyes are on the Aligned Plano data center this week, construction is in full swing on the company’s massive 550,000 sq ft, 69 MW data center in Phoenix, Arizona. Site selection is also underway in California, Illinois, Virginia, and New Jersey to round out the company’s core North America data center portfolio.
