LAGRANGE, Ga. — Google has announced plans to build its second data center in Georgia in the city limits of LaGrange, a move city officials say could boost local revenue and modernize city infrastructure.
The tech giant announced a deal with the City of LaGrange on Tuesday morning. The data center will be located at 411 Pegasus Parkway, right off Interstate 85. Google’s other data center is located in Douglas County.
The building will house servers that keep Google running worldwide.
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“Think of this as the hidden digital backbone that powers our economy,” said Katie Ottenweller, Energy Market Development Lead for Google Eastern US.
City officials told Channel 2’s Michael Doudna that the site, formerly home to the city’s largest power user, is uniquely suited for a data center.
“Google came in as a potential development that filled a void in our system,” LaGrange City Manager Patrick Bowie said.
Bowie said the city relies on utility revenue to fund government services because it lacks a property tax.
He said the power contract could double the city’s utility revenue, potentially lowering energy prices and funding police, road maintenance, and other services.
“That’s a game changer,” Bowie said.
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The location will be able to use some of the existing infrastructure. Google promised to pay for the power and infrastructure needed for the site, which will power Google searches, Google Maps and more.
“All of the costs associated with bringing new generation resources are going to be borne by us,” Ottenweller said.
Google claims the LaGrange data center will be one of the most energy-efficient centers in the country.
While the center may be more efficient, it will likely use a lot of water. Google said its data center in Douglas County was built with special systems to be able to use 100% recycled water.
But Google’s sustainability report shows that only about 17% goes back to the water supply.
The rest, 366 million gallons, is gone, evaporated.
However, LaGrange officials say the city has an ample water supply.
“We’re a former textile town. We sold a lot more water 37 years ago than we do today,” Bowie said.
“We are committed that we’re gonna replenish 120% of all of the water that we use at a certain data center site,” Ottenweller said. “This is a long-term commitment that we’re making to be neighbors and to be part of the community.”
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