Google announces data center agreement with rural Texas county, officials say

The agreement states that Google will operate off its own clean energy supply and limit water consumption, according to the release.

WILBARGER COUNTY, Texas — Google has announced a new data center with energy agreements in a rural Texas county, officials say. 

The data center will be co-located with the power generation company AES for a clean power solution to data centers in Wilbarger County, according to the release. 

The data center will be cooled by air to eliminate operational water use with a new clean energy and generation capacity, Google says. The data center hopes to focus on water security advancement and energy affordability, while also providing the growing communities in Texas with AI-powered services that businesses, people, and public sector organizations use every day, the release states. 

According to Google, the data centers bring new energy resources to meet demand which in turn funds energy affordability initiatives designed to drive down monthly bills for the local communities. 

“We are thrilled to finally be able to welcome Google and AES to Wilbarger County,” said Wilbarger County Judge Greg Tyra. “This project represents a major opportunity for our community to participate in the expanding global digital economy. We have worked closely with the Google and AES teams for the last couple of years to ensure this development would bring meaningful growth, economic benefits, and stability to Wilbarger County for years to come, that might have otherwise passed us by.”

Google partnering with AES essentially means that the data center will be powered by its own, clean energy source, easing the demands on local power grids. 

“Texas is at the center of the world’s AI leadership, and our expansion into Wilbarger County is a testament to the state’s incredible talent and infrastructure,” said Andrew Hart, Head of Data Center Public Affairs for Texas at Google. “We are proud of our close collaboration with local leaders to bring a new Google data center to Wilbarger County, ensuring the Lone Star State continues to be home to American innovation and affordable, abundant energy.”

Air-cooling technology limits the centers water consumption to only critical campus operations like the kitchen. Google also aims to refill more water than it consumes by working with groups like Texan by Nature and Texas Water Trade to improve the watershed health across Texas.