Aligned completes initial construction of first Chicago hyperscale data center, starts work on second
Aligned Data Centers says it has completed the first phase of construction for its ORD-01 hyperscale data center in “Chicagoland.” The company says it also has broken ground on a second hyperscale facility, ORD-02, on the same 18.5-acre campus.
ORD-01 is a 220,000-square-foot, 48-MW data center that is expandable to ~60 MW. The facility leverages Aligned’s Delta3 cooling technology that leverages a waterless heat rejection system. The cooling system enables Aligned to offer “expand on demand” capabilities that will see customers able to incrementally scale in place up to 50 kW per rack without stranding capacity, Aligned asserts.
The Chicagoland hyperscale data center campus sits at the convergence of more than 12 metro, long-haul, and international fiber networks and thus enables access to plentiful local and global connectivity options, Aligned adds. The site also has direct access to existing power and municipal utility resources that will enable the facilities to draw redundant, critical power with 108 MW total capacity.
“Chicago’s centralized location, long-haul connectivity, and access to renewable energy options make it an ideal geostrategic destination for hyperscalers and multinational enterprises to deploy their mission-critical infrastructure,” stated Andrew Schaap, CEO of Aligned. “Bringing one hyperscale data center online the same day that we break ground on a second facility is a testament not only to the demand for Aligned’s adaptive and sustainable data center platform, but to our ability to deliver infrastructure at the velocity our customers need it, even in a supply- and power-constrained market such as Chicago, anywhere in the world.”
The Chicago facilities announcements come shortly after Aligned opened a new waterless hyperscale data center campus in the Phoenix metro area. Chicago is the third deployment of what Aligned expects will be approximately 270 MW of planned new development in 2022.
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Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
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