Data center operator Vantage Data Centers will invest $900 million in Quebec to build a third site in Montreal and to expand two of its existing centers, one of which is located in Quebec City.
These projects will allow the American company to increase its size in Quebec by 150%, said Maxime Guévin, vice-president and general manager of Canadian operations for Vantage, during the announcement at its facilities in Quebec. “We are going to build more than double what we have in inventory. It’s major. »
Vantage will establish a third center on the island of Montreal, in Pointe-Claire, she announced Thursday. The opening of the first phase is scheduled for the end of 2022.
The company will also expand to its “QC4 campus”, also in Pointe-Claire, where a third building will be constructed. At the end of the works scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2022, the capacity of the campus will increase from 21 megawatts (MW) to 48 MW.
In Quebec, Vantage has acquired an additional eight acres of land allowing the expansion of the existing site. The addition of 32 MW of capacity will allow the Québec facilities to reach a capacity of 150 MW.
Rapid expansion in Quebec
The American company has been present in Quebec since the acquisition of 4 Degrés Colocation (previously owned by Videotron, a subsidiary of Quebecor) in January 2019.
Quebec is an “ideal” location for data centers because of the green energy, but also the cold climate which allows energy savings for server cooling, argued Mr. Guévin.
He pointed out that 99.6% of the energy produced by Hydro-Québec is renewable, which facilitates the company’s goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2030. In comparison, only 22% of the energy produced in United States comes from renewable energy sources, according to the United States Energy Information Agency. However, the portrait can vary greatly from one region to another.
Vantage customers also share a desire to reduce their carbon footprint. “Of course, for them [les clients]attaching servers whose electricity comes from coal plants in the United States, it is less interesting than coming to turn on their servers here, which are attached to power plants, which run on hydroelectricity.
With the projects announced Thursday, Vantage will own four sites with a capacity of 143 MW, representing a total investment of $1.7 billion. The company is also working on potential projects to add other sites. “Unfortunately, I’m not ready to talk regarding it yet, but I can assure you that we have other projects we are currently working on,” said Mr. Guévin.
Stephane Rolland, The Canadian Press
