In the evolving landscape of digital infrastructure, few moves are as significant as the development of a new hyperscale data center campus. We’re joined today by Dominic Jainy, an IT professional with deep expertise in the technologies that power our cloud-centric world, including AI and machine learning. We will explore the strategic decisions behind a colossal $4.8 billion project taking shape in the semi-rural setting of Walla Walla, Washington. Our conversation will cover the unique advantages of this location, the immense logistical complexities of a phased build-out, the financial anatomy of such a massive investment, the industry’s pivot toward novel power sources like nuclear energy, and the competitive reasoning behind the corporate secrecy that often shrouds these monumental deals.
Given the choice of Walla Walla over established hubs like Quincy, what specific strategic advantages does this semi-rural location offer for a $4.8 billion, 16-building data center campus? Please elaborate on the key factors, such as land availability, power, and infrastructure access.
Choosing a location like Walla Walla is a very calculated move that signals a broader industry shift. While primary markets like Seattle or Quincy are well-known, they are also becoming constrained by land availability and power capacity. The Wallula Gap Business Park offers something that’s now a premium commodity: space. We’re talking about a 1,900-acre industrial site where a company can acquire a 553-acre parcel in one go. This allows for a master-planned campus of 16 buildings without the piecemeal acquisition headaches you’d face in a denser market. Furthermore, the site is already primed for heavy industry, with direct access to US Highway 12 and the Union Pacific Railroad, which is critical for the logistics of transporting massive amounts of construction materials and equipment.
A project plan to build over 3.4 million square feet in four distinct phases requires immense logistical precision. Can you walk me through the typical challenges and critical milestones of such a phased rollout, from initial site preparation to bringing the final building online?
Executing a project of this magnitude is a masterclass in long-term planning. The decision to break it into four phases, each with four 215,000-square-foot buildings on 125 acres, is fundamental to managing risk and capital. The first major milestone is securing the power infrastructure; you can’t build without a guaranteed energy source. From there, it’s a staggered process of site grading, laying foundations, and erecting the building shells for the first phase. The real complexity lies in the parallel timelines—while one phase is being commissioned and filled with servers, the next is already under construction. You have to perfectly orchestrate supply chains for everything from steel to high-tech cooling systems over several years. A critical challenge is ensuring that each new phase integrates seamlessly with the existing campus infrastructure without causing any disruption to the live data centers.
With a land purchase of around $36 million for a nearly $5 billion campus, land is a minor part of the total investment. What are the primary capital expenditures that drive the budget for a project of this scale, and how do power and cooling infrastructure factor in?
You’ve hit on a key point: the land cost, while significant at $36 million, is almost a rounding error in the context of a $4.8 billion project. The overwhelming majority of the budget is allocated to the “guts” of the data center. The largest single expenditure is the mechanical and electrical infrastructure. This includes massive redundant power systems, uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), and backup generators to ensure 100% uptime. Then there’s the sophisticated cooling infrastructure needed to dissipate the heat generated by tens of thousands of servers. After that, you have the physical building construction and, of course, the IT hardware itself—the servers, racks, and networking gear that fill these vast halls. The power and cooling systems are the lifeblood and represent the most complex and expensive part of the entire build.
A major cloud provider recently secured a deal for up to 320MW of nuclear power from Small Modular Reactors in Washington. How does this move reflect the industry’s evolving energy strategy, and what are the operational and sustainability implications of powering data centers with nuclear energy?
This nuclear power deal is a game-changer and a clear indicator of where the industry is headed. The power demands of AI and large-scale cloud computing are skyrocketing, and traditional grids are struggling to keep up. Sourcing up to 320MW directly from Small Modular Reactors is a strategic move to secure a massive, stable, and carbon-free source of baseload power. Operationally, it provides immunity from the intermittency of renewables like wind and solar, ensuring the constant, reliable energy that data centers demand. From a sustainability perspective, it’s a huge step toward decarbonization goals, allowing a hyperscaler to power its operations around the clock without generating emissions. This is about future-proofing the energy supply for decades to come.
When a mystery company described as a “top 30 Fortune 500” firm initiates a project of this size, what are the primary reasons for such secrecy? Please detail the competitive advantages gained by masking its identity during the initial land acquisition and planning stages.
The initial secrecy is a standard and critical part of the hyperscale playbook. Operating through an LLC like Advance Phase allows the company, which we now know is almost certainly AWS, to conduct business without tipping its hand. The primary advantage is financial; revealing that a tech giant is buying up 500 acres would instantly cause land prices to skyrocket due to speculation. It allows them to negotiate a fair price, in this case, around $65,000 per acre. Secondly, it provides a competitive advantage by keeping rivals in the dark about strategic expansion plans and regional capacity build-outs. Finally, it simplifies the early stages of permitting and negotiation with local port authorities and governments, allowing the technical and logistical details to be sorted out before the public relations and media attention that comes with a globally recognized name.
What is your forecast for the development of new data center hubs in secondary markets like Walla Walla over the next decade?
I believe what we’re seeing in Walla Walla is the blueprint for the next decade of data center development. The insatiable demand for computing power, driven by AI, means that the industry has to look beyond traditional hubs. Primary markets are facing power shortages and land scarcity. Therefore, we will see a deliberate and aggressive expansion into secondary and even tertiary markets that offer the “big three”: abundant and affordable land, access to massive amounts of power, and fiber connectivity. Companies will increasingly partner with energy providers on innovative solutions, just like the nuclear SMR deal in Washington. These once-overlooked semi-rural areas are poised to become the next critical nerve centers of our global digital infrastructure.