Google expands presence in North Texas with $600 million investment in new Red Oak data center » Dallas innovates

From left to right: University of Dallas President Dr. Justin Ronon; John Cornyn, senator from Texas. Rep. Jake Elsey, TX-06. Chris Turner, Google Vice President of Government Affairs and Public Policy, Knowledge and Information Products. [Photo: Google]

Google has been in Texas since 2007, cutting the ribbon in Dallas and Fort Worth, including an office in Addison and a large data center in Midlothian. Last Thursday, Google's DFW ground game received even more attention with the announcement of his $600 million investment plan for the new Red Oak data center, his second in the state.

Google said it plans to invest $330 million this year alone in its Texas expansion and at least $600 million over multiple years to build a new data center site in Red Oak. Google has already invested $1.1 billion in the state, the company said.

The announcement ceremony, held at the University of Dallas Workforce Development Training Center, was attended by Senator John Cornyn and Representative Jake Elsey.

John Cornyn speaks at Google's event announcing Red Oak data center. [Photo: Google]

“Texas continues to lead the nation in job growth and workforce development, including in technology,” Cornyn said in a statement. “Google's expanded data center in Midlothian and new data center in Red Oak build on these successes, and we're confident these investments will have a positive impact in North Texas and beyond. I’m looking forward to it.”

Google said the new Red Oak data center will complement its existing Midlothian data center and Dallas cloud region. This will support the company's AI innovations and play a key role in growing the Google Cloud business. “Google's data centers help power popular digital services like Google Cloud, Workspaces (including Gmail, Docs, Sheets, and more), Search, Maps, and more for people and organizations around the world. “There are,” the company said.

Expected to create “nearly 1,200 construction jobs”

Left to right: Chris Turner from Google and
Stephen Barber, Data Center Services Manager at Google. John Cornyn, senator from Texas.
and Rep. Jake Elsey, TX-06. [Photo: Google]

Elsey said Texas has quickly become “a great state for companies to invest in,” and talked about the jobs the Red Oak project will bring to the region.

“Texans are some of the hardest-working people in our country, and I know this expansion will bring good, good-paying jobs to our communities,” Elsey said in a statement. “Google is a trusted partner of Midlothian and Red Oak, and this expansion will further strengthen that partnership.”

Google said it expects the new Red Oak data center to create “nearly 1,200 construction jobs” and 30 new full-time operations jobs once the center is operational.

“We are proud that Red Oak will be home to the newest Google data center here in Texas,” said Red Oak Mayor Mark Stanfill. “Texas is well on its way to becoming a major hub for technology, and the City of Red Oak is proud to be a part of the technological advancements that will surely come from this new data center.”

Keep the cloud local

Chris Turner, Google Vice President of Government Affairs and Public Policy, Knowledge and Information Products. [Photo: Google]

Last year, Google opened a new cloud region in Dallas, further deepening its presence in the central United States. The addition in June 2022 makes Dallas his second cloud hub in the central United States for Google, bringing his North American footprint to his 11th location and his worldwide footprint to his 34th location.

Google aims to keep the cloud local. Localization of cloud services like the Dallas Cloud Region improves speed and reliability for traditional online businesses and companies using AI and machine learning applications that require rapid data access and processing. the company said.

“Google's data centers provide infrastructure for digital services and AI innovation to people around the world,” said Chris Turner, vice president of government affairs, public policy, knowledge and information products at Google. mentioned in. “As a proud Texan, I'm excited for Google to call Texas home. Their continued investment in our state is a testament to the resources and talent we have in Midlothian, Red Oak, and beyond.”

“Working with Google on this next-level project is another example of our mission in action,” added University of Dallas President Dr. Justin Ronon. “Together, we have a real opportunity to put students on the path to high-paying, life-changing careers in fields that will continue to play a vital role in the evolution of society. The University of Dallas shares our commitment and enthusiasm for strengthening the educational pipeline that connects North Texas to a strong technology workforce.”

Google says its data centers are “some of the most efficient in the world.” The company has set his 2030 goal of running its business “on carbon-free energy, every hour of every day, in every data center and campus around the world.” Over the past year, we have entered into power purchase agreements with Ørsted and SB Energy to add new wind and solar power to the grid and bring additional clean energy jobs to Texas.

According to Google, last year it provided “$46.48 billion in economic activity to tens of thousands of businesses, publishers, nonprofits, creators, and developers in Texas, creating economic opportunity across the state.” .

$150,000 grant to Red Oak School District

At the event, Google also announced a $150,000 grant to the Red Oak School District, building on the company's long-standing commitment to expanding STEM education in Texas. Last year, Google announced a partnership with the University of Texas and Texas State University Systems to offer the Google Career Certificate. The program, which has the potential to be attended by tens of thousands of students across the state, offers courses in data analysis, cybersecurity, digital marketing and e-commerce, IT support, project management, and UX design.

New Google Sites fuels North Texas data center boom

Google's new Red Oak facility adds to the growing data center boom in North Texas.

Just two weeks ago, Dallas-based data center developer and operator CyrusOne announced a new AI workload-specific data center solution called Intelliscale. It was developed specifically to address the rapidly growing needs of AI applications and services.

In early August, Dallas-based DataBank, a leading provider of enterprise-class colocation, connectivity, and managed services, announced the completion of seven data center expansions in the United States. dallas, Las Vegas, san diego, irvineand Kansas City-likewise two Atlanta.

In July, CoreWeave, a specialized cloud provider for large-scale GPU-accelerated workloads, announced it would build a new $1.6 billion data center facility in Plano and be fully operational by December 31st.

Dallas-based Compass Datacenters and Schneider Electric, a global leader in digital transformation of energy management and automation, will partner to build a state-of-the-art integrated facility in Red Oak to support growing demand.7 Announced in May. For prefabricated modular data centers.

The local data center boom has been going on for several years. In January 2022, a market update from Dallas-based commercial real estate giant CBRE revealed that the local sector was in the fourth quarter of 2021, with the Dallas-Fort Worth data center market “recording its most active leasing quarter in history.” He pointed out that it will end on a solid note.