With the news that Facebook had surpassed 500 million users, the social networking website has decided to more than double the size of its first wholly-owned data center currently under construction in Prineville, Ore. The initial $188-million project broke ground in January and has been moving along rapidly. The expansion will add another 160,000 sq ft of shell space to the 147,000 sq ft facility now being built, with the shell space being built out later as business demand dictates.

"We are making excellent progress on the first phase of our Prineville Data Center and we are hoping to finish construction of that phase in the first quarter of 2011," says Tom Furlong, director of site operations for Facebook. "To meet the needs of our growing business, we have decided to go ahead with the second phase of the project, which was an option we put in place when we broke ground earlier this year. The second phase should be finished by early 2012."

该项目最多创造了200个建筑工作，并由总部位于加利福尼亚州Redwood City的合资总承包商团队和总部位于波特兰的Fortis Construction领导。

Furlong说，Facebook选择了Prineville，因为它“适合环境冷却，可再生能源资源，可用土地，才华横溢的区域劳动力和支持性商业环境的气候”。需要自定义数据中心为全球用户生成的大量照片，视频和数据提供存储空间。

该设施是由芝加哥建筑师Sheehan Partners设计的，以最大程度地提高能源效率并获得LEED金认证。绿色的机械策略包括有效的蒸发冷却系统，在湿度较低时，该系统将在一年中运行多达70％。在凉爽的几个月中，将被带入外部空气。该项目的数千台服务器产生的热量的一部分将被捕获并重新使用到加热办公空间。

Other sustainable features include the use of rainwater for landscaping and gray water; low-VOC finishes; use of Energy Star-compliant appliances; and low-flow fixtures and toilets.

大多数工人来自当地社区。分包商包括BEND，位于俄勒冈州的Hooker Creek表演现场工作，R.F。俄勒冈州奥斯威戈湖的Stearns Inc.作为钢铁承包商，位于华盛顿州肯纳威市的Apollo板金属，Do Mechanical和Hillsboro，俄勒冈州Rosendin Electric的Hillsboro作为电气承包商。