Fortune Data Centers

Lowest Cost

Oregon is the lowest cost state for leased data center operations in the United States.

Oregon does not have, and never has had, a sales and use tax. In addition, it has state-sponsored Enterprise Zones wherein property taxes, both real and business, are abated for up to 5 years per investment. Since IT equipment must usually be refreshed within 5 years, the net effect is that there is no tax, neither sales nor property, on IT equipment in these Enterprise Zones.

Oregon has inexpensive and green power. The Bonneville Power Administration hydro-dams generate the lowest carbon footprint power in the country. And the power rates are extremely low, coming in at less than 6.7 cents per kWh in the metro areas.

Oregon has a cool climate that lends itself well to free cooling from both air and water economization. This decreases PUE and makes power bills go down even further.

In California, a typical wholesale data center tenant’s Total Cost of Ownership/Operations will be about 1/3 rent, 1/3 power and 1/3 taxes. By moving to Arizona, a tenant can lower their power bill by about 20%, for an overall savings of about 7%. But by moving to Oregon, that same customer can lower their power bill by 20% and their tax bill by 100%, for an overall savings of about 40%.

For a typical enterprise application (with IT equipment costs of $40mm/MW of critical load), when compared to California, the following monthly savings are achieved in Hillsboro, OR:

	No Sales Tax	$77/kW
	No Property Tax	$22/kW
	Cheaper Power	$12/kW
	Better PUE	$20/kW
	Total Savings	$131/kW

So, if rent were free in California, it would still be cheaper to operate in Oregon.

For a typical internet-facing application (with IT equipment costs of $20mm/MW of critical load), when compared to California, the following monthly savings are achieved in Hillsboro, OR:

	No Sales Tax	$38/kW
	No Property Tax	$11/kW
	Cheaper Power	$12/kW
	Better PUE	$20/kW
	Total Savings	$81/kW

Assuming a PUE of 1.4 (below industry standards) and utilization of 80%, monthly power costs in California are $70/kW of critical load.

Thus, if power were free in California, it would still be cheaper to operate in Oregon.