Switch opens SuperNAP Italia data centre
Mon 19 Dec 2016
Switch, the developer and operator of SuperNAP data centers, has announced the opening of the company’s first European data center in Milan, Italy.
The SuperNAP Italia data center will provide 42,000 square meters of data center space in four data halls, and will feature the SuperNAP proprietary triple-redundant UPS power system, carrying 40MVA of power.
Power will be distributed through two 132 kilovolt transmission paths, providing up to 40 kilowatts of power per cabinet.
The data center design also includes the Switch SHIELD roof deck system, touted as the ‘world’s first and only forever-maintainable, redundant, fire-proof data center roof system.’ The roof SHIELD at SuperNAP Italia is designed with dual independent roof decks rated to withstand up to 322 kph winds.
SuperNAP Italia has joined member organizations of the Open Hub Med Project, which was developed to promote a neutral zone for internet and data exchange among countries in the Mediterranean. Through the Open Hub Med Project, SuperNAP hopes to open the gateway for companies to expand internationally from Europe to the Middle East and Asia.
Earlier this year, Switch announced that it would build SuperNAP Thailand, expected to be the first data center in Asia Pacific to be certified as a Tier IV facility by the Uptime Institute. SuperNAP Thailand is expected to open early next year.
While the majority of the company’s existing data centers are located near the Las Vegas, NV headquarters, Switch is currently expanding its US portfolio as well, adding data center space in Michigan.
Switch was in the news this summer when it filed a lawsuit against NV Energy, in which the company stated that it was unconstitutionally denied the choice to purchase 100 percent renewable energy from First Solar. Other large consumers, including Wynn and MGM, operators of massive casinos in Las Vegas, were allowed to leave the public utility and purchase energy on the open market.
Switch and the Nevada Public Utilities Commission may have reached an agreement earlier this month, whereby the company would pay up to $27 million dollars as an ‘exit fee’, to cover the costs of electricity infrastructure while allowing Switch to pursue alternate sources of energy. This agreement is still under consideration by the company and must be approved by the Public Utilities Commission before it is finalized.
