Italian data center operator Aruba is expanding its Milan campus with two new facilities, DC-B and DC-C.

The 200,000 sq m (2.15m sq ft) Global Cloud Data Center (IT3) campus in Ponte San Pietro, Bergamo, includes renewable energy assets that meet its current needs and has a potential power capacity of up to 90MW.

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The IT3 campus with its solar panel-lined facilities – Aruba

Filling out Milan

DC-B will span three data halls, supporting 9MW of critical IT power, and is set to be completed by the first half of 2021. DC-C will have four halls at 8MW, and is expected to launch in the first half of 2022.

The new facilities join Aruba’s existing 15MW DC-A data center. With the new additions, the campus’s data center area increases to 80,000 sq m (861,000 sq ft) with 23,000 sq m (247,500 sq ft) dedicated to data halls.

The campus is adjacent to the Brembo River and is near a hydroelectric plant. IT3 also uses geothermal systems to moderate the temperature of the data halls, lowering consumption.

Along with the new buildings, Aruba is also increasing its power production. The company will be creating additional solar energy capacity and will add another turbine to the hydroelectric system. Both exteriors (roof and walls) of DC-B and DC-C will be covered with solar panels, DC-A will have new panels installed on its roof over the next three months. Aruba’s solar power generation alone is expected to reach around 6MW.

Stefano Cecconi, CEO of Aruba, said: "Thanks to the investments in the two new data centers and the upgrading of the plants to enable greater self-production of energy from renewable sources, we are pursuing the goal we set for ourselves at the birth of the Global Cloud Data Center. That is to make the best technologies available to our customers while respecting the environment."

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