Google Announces New Data Center

A Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) coal plant in Alabama that was slated for retirement will become the site of Google’s newest data center the company announced late last month.  The new data center will be fully powered by renewable energy, helping further its clean energy reach.   In addition, Google says it will also use the company’s state- of -the art, energy efficient technology for the data centers, which can require enormous amounts of electricity to keep the servers operating and cool.

The serious air, water, and climate pollution caused by the Widows Creek plant caused Sierra Club activists to actively seek its closure, as well as, a transition program for its employees for over a decade.  The coal powered plant opened in 1952, but has been slowing winding down production and will formally close this month.  This facility will become the seventh data center for Google in the United States and the solid infrastructure, good power lines and access to water made it an excellent choice for Google to repurpose.  There is no official word as to what type of energy source Google will use, the search giant has used both wind and solar energy in other projects – stay tuned.