The Year in Cloud: Amazon’s Growth Boosts Data Center Construction

Jan. 16: Amazon Approaches 1 Gigawatt of Cloud Capacity in Virginia: A new data center being built by Corporate Office Properties Trust (COPT) in Ashburn. The tenant is reported to be Amazon Web Services. (Photo: Rich Miller)

Amazon’s cloud computing operation may soon have more than 1 gigawatt of power capacity supporting its huge US-East data center cluster, according to a Greenpeace analysis of the company’s energy use. AWS had 500 megawatts of capacity in a 2015 analysis, but has since received permission for generators to support another 560 megawatts of data center capacity, Greenpeace estimates. Some of those projects are still in the planning and construction phase. But when they are completed, the new capacity would bring Amazon’s total data center energy footprint in Northern Virginia to 1.06 gigawatts. Read more.

May 17: Looks Like Amazon — More Data Centers Coming to Ashburn: COPT, which is the primary landlord for Amazon Web Services in Northern Virginia, is building two data centers in Ashburn for an unnamed tenant. It looks like AWS is continuing its relentless expansion in Northern Virginia. The cloud computing titan’s primary landlord in the region, Corporate Office Properties Trust (COPT), is building two new buildings in Ashburn that are fully leased to an unnamed “investment grade Fortune 500 company.” Read more. 

A row of three Amazon Web Services data centers in Ashburn, Virginia. (Photo: Rich Miller)

Nov. 6: Amazon Plans Epic Data Center Expansion in Northern Virginia: AWS is working with a data center developer to build 11 new data centers in Northern Virginia in 2018-19, which would add 2 million SF of cloud capacity. This amounts to nearly 2 million square feet of additional data center space in Northern Virginia, which is already home to the world’s largest concentration of cloud computing infrastructure. Read more.

Nov. 13: Amazon Pursues Power Deal for 12 More Ohio Data Centers: AWS says it may build another 12 data centers in Ohio, and might add more cloud campuses in the state — if it can get discounts on power. AWS also says it could build additional campuses in the state if it can get a deal on its electricity costs. Read More.

To stay current on the latest news from Amazon Web Services and its movements in the data center market, see here.

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