Google is ever-expanding and that is clear in the company’s latest efforts to expand with a new data center. The technology giant announced that they will add a new data center in Clarksville, Tennessee (Clarksville is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Tennessee, and the fifth-largest city in the state behind Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville, and Chattanooga, respectively).
The building, once a Hemlock Semiconductor business and previous TVA megasite, is still under negotiations but the move will provide the area with a Google presence. Google, the Mountain View, California tech company says that it will also create some 70 jobs that are much needed in the local community.
Google Invests Heavily in New Data Center
Although Google has not announced its specific plans for the project at length, the company did invest $600 million for the purchase and development of the local data center. However, it is not in stone just yet. On Monday, prior to the year end, the Montgomery County Commission and the Clarksville – Montgomery County Industrial Development Board will come together to discuss the project.
It is expected that these two governmental boards will vote to sell the land to Google at that point. And, with approval of the bid for the project, Google will move ahead to sign a formal purchase agreement the following day with the current owners and the Industrial Development Board, which currently holds the property’s title.
Never Shut It Down
One of the main reasons the city is happy to invite Google in is because once the organization sets up shop, it is unlikely they will leave, creating a strong economic component to the city. The previous company operating the space, Hemlock, closed the $1.2 billion polysilicon plant before it even opened after promising some 500 jobs to the area. The material the plant was to produce is used in solar panel creations.
The Clarksville location would be Google’s 15th data center and the company seems to keep investing. The new location would be much like the one proposed for the Bridgeport, Alabama area. That location is expected to start construction in 2016 and cost the company $600 millions. It will create about 100 jobs at the Alabama location. It would take Google about six months to create a design for the location and about 18 months for construction.
A few reasons why Clarksville may be an attractive option for Google include the location’s overall availability and the lower price of electric power. In addition, it has the sewer and water capacity and overall local climate that the company needs for its data center.
The center is part of numerous expansions Google is making or has made in the country. Google for Entrepreneurs Southeast Tech Hubs are now sprouting up throughout the area including in Raleigh – Durham, North Carolina, Austin, Texas, and Nashville, Tennessee. Additionally, Google Fiber components of the company are moving into the Nashville, Atlanta, Charlotte, Austin, San Antonio, and Raleigh – Durham area. Details on the specific operations and features of the data center in Clarksville were not disclosed by the company as of yet.
Katrina specializes in server products with Rack Solutions leading the IT industry for custom racking design.