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$60M Weather Data Center to Wyoming

A $60 million data center to conduct high-performance weather research will be built in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo. will build a $60 million data center in Cheyenne, Wyoming to house a supercomputer for weather research. The project be a partnership among NCAR, the University of Wyoming and the state of Wyoming.

Construction is expected to begin later this year, but the center will likely not open until late 2010 or early 2011. The new center will house "some of the world's most powerful supercomputers in order to advance understanding of climate, weather, and other Earth and atmospheric processes," according to a press release.

The facility will also create 30 new high tech jobs, and local officials hope it will attract future high tech businesses to the area. "It's gonna be just mega for not only Cheyenne's economy but the state's economy," says Cheyenne Mayor Jack Spiker told the AP. "Having an NCAR supercomputing facility in Wyoming will be transformative for the University of Wyoming, will represent a significant step forward in the state's economic development, and will provide exceptional opportunities for NCAR to make positive contributions to the educational infrastructure of an entire state," says William Gern, the university's vice president for research and economic development.