Economy hampers plan to convert WWII ammo bunkers to high-tech computer data centers

Recession slows plan to build bunker data centers

HASTINGS, Neb. — A new company is hoping that some of the same things that attracted the military to central Nebraska for a World War II Naval ammunition base will appeal to companies looking for a place to store their electronic data.

Prairie Bunkers launched last year and has been trying to sell companies on using the old ammunition bunkers and the area’s abundant, cheap power to create secure data centers.

But even with Google and Yahoo opening up new data centers in the Omaha area — just a couple hours east of the bunkers — getting started hasn’t been easy because of the recession.

CEO Pam Brown says the company hopes the strengths of the bunkers, which were all built to withstand a direct hit from a 500-pound bomb, will overcome the economic challenges.

On the Net:

Prairie Bunkers LLC: prairiebunkers.com