Mass. begins $110 million data center.

• Position: GOING GREEN - Brief article

Massachusetts has broken ground on a new $110 million data center that will be a national model for green technology while securing the state's electronic records and data systems. It is expected to be complete by May 2012.

The state-of-the-art data center, located in Springfield, will also provide critical backup for the state's existing primary data center, the Massachusetts Information Technology Center, according to Gov. Deval Patrick's office.

The 148,000-square-foot building is designed to drastically minimize energy use through efficiency measures and other design features, including fresh-air cooling and EnergyStar servers. It will be constructed with the latest technologies in energy-efficient data center infrastructure, sustainable building design, and consolidated computer technology.

The facility will use cost-competitive energy sources and a number of sustainability features, including capture and re-use of rainwater, natural sunlight for staff areas, and recycling of existing building materials in construction. Facility equipment will be EnergyStar-certified.

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