05/04/2017 EDAC Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE AGENDA ITEM 3A STAFF ORIGINATOR: Michael Grochala EDAC MEETING DATE: May 4, 2017 TOPIC: Great River Energy Data Center Site Assessment Program BACKGROUND As technology continues to evolve and our reliance on the computer and internet or "cloud" based platforms continues to expand, so does the need for data collection, processing and distribution. "Data Centers" are a centralized location to house this information. Web sites, email, cloud storage and applications, e-commerce transactions, and online gaming all utilize the servers and processor located in these facilities. While data centers do not create a high number of on -site jobs they are typically high value capital investments with low service impacts. From an economic development viewpoint they offer a high value opportunity to expand and diversify the City's tax base. Upfront capital investment by these facilities can be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Lino Lake offers some advantages for facility location because of our relative location to Minneapolis/St. Paul, availability of large land tracts, access to fiber and access to power supplies. Great River Energy (GRE) is a not -for -profit electric cooperative made up of 28 member cooperatives. GRE generates and transmits electricity for those members including Connexus Energy. Connexus serves portions of Lino Lakes including the 35E corridor. GRE established a data center site assessment program in 2014 with the goal of identifying suitable sites within their territory. Mr. Tom Lambrecht, from GRE, and Jim Gromberg from WSB & Associates, will be present at the meeting to discuss opportunities for Lino Lakes to get involved in this program. EDAC CONSIDERATION None required. Discussion only. ATTACHMENTS 1. GRE Data Center Site Minimum Requirements 2. GRE site Assessment Supporting Documentation