New Microsoft data centre powers Web services push

The Quincy facility will consume up to 48 megawatts of electricity -- enough to power 40,000 homes.

Microsoft has a system for finding potential data centre sites. It takes 31 factors into account such as access to cheap, renewable electricity and fiber optic connectivity before coming up with a handful of locations.

"I kind of view it as a treasure map," Mike Manos, Microsoft's director of data centres, said in an interview.

The company discloses the bare minimum about the facilities since it views every aspect of the data centre from location to layout as a competitive advantage.

Microsoft is not alone in its reticence. Google's annual report with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission acknowledges that the company operates data centres in major regions of the world, but reveals nothing about exact locations or costs of operations.

Google and Yahoo are also actively building data centres all around the world. In fact, the two companies are building facilities in the U.S. Pacific Northwest -- home to some of America's cheapest electricity.