After nearly two months of considering options, Facebook finally made it official.

The tech giant announced Wednesday it would locate its newest multibillion-dollar data center in the village of Los Lunas, with construction beginning in October and expected to complete in about a year.

That announcement caps off an interesting back and forth between New Mexico and the city of West Jordan, Utah, which was also vying for the project.

While local officials there expressed concerns about high water use and the total amount of tax subsidies, reportedly between $185 million and $240 million, the project received mostly positive reaction in New Mexico.

Jason Espinoza, president and CEO of the New Mexico Association of Commerce and Industry, had previously provided a letter of support for the project’s energy needs to the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission, and described Wednesday’s announcement as a big win for the state.

“If New Mexico can continue to successfully demonstrate its ability to quickly accommodate an investment as large as Facebook's data center, the tech industry will take notice, and more could follow in short order,” said Espinoza.

The village of Los Lunas offered the tech giant a package that included industrial revenue bonds designed to reduce its property and gross receipts taxes in return for a set of fixed payments between $50,000 and $500,000 per year based on the build-out of the facility. That’s along with a grant from the state’s Local Economic Development Act fund that could be worth up to $10 million.

“Facebook’s initial investment of $250 million and the likelihood of continued investment, coupled with the number of jobs we’ll see added in the construction phase and once the center is operational, make this an incredible win for us,” said Terri Cole, president and CEO of the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, in an emailed statement.

The data center's direct jobs could number between 50 and 150. Business leaders have pointed to economic impacts at other Facebook data centers as evidence that the project could have a “ripple effect.”

The project could also open the door to other companies looking to put together large, corporate renewable energy deals, and increase the amount of utility-scale renewable assets.

Regina Wheeler, CEO for SunPower by Positive Energy Solar, described it as a leverage point for solar to increase in the state.

“The Facebook project is a total game changer for solar in NM,” said Wheeler. “This deal paves the way for other large facilities to get solar energy from systems located off-site.”

Pat Vincent-Collawn, CEO for Public Service Co. of New Mexico, also called it a game changer and said in a joint statement with Gov. Susana Martinez that it was a “testament to the potential of New Mexico to attract some of the greatest companies in the world to our state.”

PNM sought and won quick approval from the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission for its energy plan for the data center, which could increase the company’s revenue by about $31 million per year. Click here to read the full article.