Meanwhile, Facebook is seeking to build bonds with the surrounding community. It's an effort that's had the company throwing a barbecue for locals, providing free dental care for area children and donating uniforms for high school sports teams.

Facebook's Prineville project demonstrates ways the seven-year-old company is growing up, taking on significant additional costs, and making an effort to form bonds with a growing network of constituents. It's a process that companies of all stripes, from manufacturers to miners, have had to navigate.

The Prineville data center, which is filling up with server computers required to run Facebook's service for its more than 500 million users, is owned and operated by the company. The central Oregon location offers relatively affordable power rates, and a temperate climate that should help cut into cooling costs for the facility.

Facebook has so far leased its data centers in various locations. Recently, it announced plans to build a second owned data center in North Carolina, of a similar size to the Prineville facility.