Facebook has offered a glimpse into construction progress at its 476,000 sq ft Altoona, Iowa data center, which it said will be ready for traffic in early 2015.

The build – which Facebook said is currently on track – was the inspiration for Facebook’s new rapid deployment data center concept which will be used for its second facility at its Lulea site in Swedish Lapland which will break ground soon.

The Swedish climate means Facebook has less time to construct its new data center, so Facebook built on its traditional stick-build approach used at Altoona. 

Turner Construction is the sub-contractor for the Iowa build, and to date it has seen more than 400 people a day take part in construction work, clocking 372,000 hours.

Once complete, the data centre will be 100% carbon neutral, with a nearby windfarm being built by MidAmerican Energy providing access to renewable power and Facebook offsetting other energy needs with Renewable Energy Credits.