Google To Spend Billions On US Data Centres

Google has named eleven regions in the United States where the search engine giant will invest an impressive $10 billion over the course of 2020.

The $10bn investment will be spent on data centres and offices in Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New York, Oklahoma, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington and California.

Details about Google’s data centres have typically remained under close control for years, but the search engine giant has occasionally lifted the veil about some details. For example in 2012 Google said that its data centre in Douglas County, Georgia, was using water from the toilets and bathtubs of neighbouring communities to help cool the servers that are running inside the facility.

Data centres

Google is thought to operate at least 58 data centres around the world, and has invested more than 4.3 billion euros to build five facilities in Europe since 2007.

Last September Google said it would spend an additional 3 billion euros (£2.6bn) on European data centres over the next two years.

And now in a blog post, Google (and now Alphabet) CEO Sundar Pichai explained how Google would continue “to grow and invest across America in 2020.”

“Today I’m pleased to announce that Google will invest more than $10 billion in offices and data centers across the United States in 2020,” he wrote. “Everywhere we invest, we strive to create meaningful opportunities for local communities.”

Job creation

Pichai cited the example of Google’s data centre in Pryor (Oklahoma), where he had visited last year to announce a $600m investment.

“It felt like the whole community came out to welcome us, from small business owners to teachers to Google employees,” said Pichai. “Pryor Mayor Larry Lees told the crowd that Google’s investments have helped provide local schools with the resources they need – including the latest textbooks and STEM courses – to offer a world-class education.”

Pichai went on to discuss how Google investments in new office and data centre projects at a local level will create thousands of jobs – including roles within Google, construction jobs in data centres and renewable energy facilities, and opportunities in local businesses in surrounding towns and communities.

Pichai confirmed this $10bn investment is on top of the $13 billion investment in communities from South Carolina to Nevada it made in 2019.

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