Facebook to build $750M data center east of Atlanta

ATLANTA (AP) - Facebook is investing $750 million over the next five years to build a huge data center outside of Atlanta.

Gov. Nathan Deal held a news conference Wednesday afternoon to announce that the social media giant's 9th U.S. data center will be built in Newton County, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) east of downtown Atlanta.

Deal says the data center will lead to the creation of more than 100 full-time jobs. Consisting of two buildings occupying about 970,000 square feet (90,000 square meters), the center will be powered exclusively by renewable energy. It is expected to be fully operational in 2020.

Facebook has been adding data centers in the U.S. and internationally to handle the growing number of photos, videos, and additional digital content from its 2 billion users.