Microsoft opens hyperscale data centre

Friday, 13 December 2024

Tech giant Microsoft has opened its first renewable energy data centre in New Zealand.

The hyperscale data centre opened in Auckland on Thursday, but its exact location is being kept private for security reasons.

The centre had been called New North, and will support cloud-based software and AI tools and was the most sustainable of Microsoft’s centres in more than 60 countries.

The centre had been supported by Contact Energy, in which Microsoft paid the company $300 million in 2022 for the development of a geothermal facility and a contract to buy renewable energy over the next 10 years.

The opening of the centre meant up to 100,000 people would need to be upskilled over the next ten years to make the most of the opportunities it presented.