A new company called VSData has announced plans to build a spring water-cooled data centre outside Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. It is expected to be a 2MW, 125-rack facility.
News resource Data Centre Dynamics says this appears to be the company’s first facility, from which it aims to offer colocation and other services. VSData says it is expanding its pool of investors and is inviting professionals with technical expertise to become partners in the data centre project.
The data centre will be located in a gorge in Aragatsotn, a province in the west of the country. The company says the gorge is 5°C cooler than the surrounding area, helping to reduce cooling costs.
The site's natural lower temperature will help to reduce heating, ventilation, and air conditioning load. A spring water cooling system is being developed to reduce electricity consumption.
VSData says that projected environmental savings include a 30-50% reduction in carbon footprint compared to conventional data centres.
The data centre project is designed in accordance with Tier-3 specifications. It has two independent power lines, with a third currently in progress. Reliable connectivity will include a 25 kilometre fibre optic line extension to Yerevan. The facility is sited close to the north-south highway and just 15 minutes from Yerevan.
Will this be the winning approach to environmentally conscious data centre development VSData seems to be aiming for? We should know this year; ground has been broken, and the data centre is due to go live by the end of 2025.
According to Data Centre Dynamics, VSData will not be alone in operating a data centre in our near the capital; Rostelecom-owned Armenian fixed connectivity operator Ovio, a local digital transformation specialist called DataCom, and Armenian ISP Arminco already operate data centres in Yerevan.