Google building Ala. data center on former TVA coal plant - Entrepreneur Generations

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, U.S. Rep Mo Brooks and Google and local officials break ground on the data center.
(Times Free Press photo by Dave Flessner)

In an apt symbol of local economic revitalization, Google broke ground on a data center in the northerneastern Alabama town of Bridgeport (pop. 2,400) over what was once one of the Tennessee Valley Authority's biggest coal-fired power plants. Google also announced a $100,000 grant to the Jackson County School District for local STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) programs. "The Google complex, which is expected to employ from 75 to 100 people there once in full operation, was heralded by Alabama officials Monday for turning an economic hardship to a potential economic windfall, Dave Flessner reports for the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

The 360-acre data center, only the eighth in the U.S. and the 14th worldwide, will be built on the 2,000-acre site of the Widows Creek Fossil Plant. The plant, which closed in 2015 after 63 years, brought hundreds of jobs both directly and indirectly in its heyday. Google may purchase more of the Widow Creek land, which TVA is still cleaning up.

The Bridgeport facility and a similar one on a former TVA site in Clarksville, Tenn., are aimed at helping meet growing demand in the Southeastern U.S. for internet services such as cloud-based programs, browser searches and video streaming. Widows Creek was an attractive location because of its plentiful land, water, local labor, and the availability of green energy: Google wants to power the plant with only clean energy, and the TVA promised to provide it with electricity generated with renewable solar, wind or hydroelectric energy.

Bridgeport Mayor David Hughes told Flessner that "Having Google in our area will usher in a new era for our community . . . Ultimately, Google will help us recruit other high-tech companies to our area."

from The Rural Blog https://ift.tt/2qiXsky Google building Ala. data center on former TVA coal plant - Entrepreneur Generations

Posted by Entrepreneur Generations

Tweet