Electrical issues may delay NSA data centre in Utah
The US Army Corps of Engineers has found electrical problems at the National Security Agency's US$1.7 billion data centre in Utah that could delay its long-awaited opening next month.
The centre is filled with super-powered computers designed to store massive amounts of information gathered secretly from phone calls and e-mails. It will be the NSA's largest data storage centre in the US, constantly using 65 megawatts of power - enough to power 33,000 houses.
What exactly will happen inside is shrouded in mystery. There is no visible marker bearing the facility's name and operator, and the NSA has been quiet about what it will be doing there.
The Army Corps of Engineers discovered the problem during tests at the centre south of Salt Lake City, on a National Guard base. The Corps, which is in charge of construction, says experts are working to correct it.It did not give details of the problem or if it had caused any major damage.
The utility that powers the centre said it determined the problems were the fault of the centre and not the power grid.
NSA officials have said the agency chose the Utah location over 37 others because electricity is cheaper there, and because it was easier to buy enough land to build the centre's long, squat buildings that span 140,000 square metres.
The centre sits on a hill in Bluffdale, a community of 8,000 people known for its rodeo and annual Old West Days.
Richard "Dickie" George, who retired from the NSA in 2011 after 40 years, said the facility was not nearly as mysterious as some thought. It held only data, with NSA agents elsewhere combing through the information to understand terrorist groups. George called it no more than a "big file cabinet".
