Google is expanding its data center footprint in South Carolina.
This week the firm announced a $3.3 billion investment in South Carolina to expand its cloud and data center infrastructure, and broke ground on two new data center campuses in Dorchester County.
The company said the two new facilities represent a $2bn investment. The remaining funding will support growing the search and cloud firm’s existing presence in South Carolina, including at its Berkeley County campus in Moncks Corner.
"Today marks a significant milestone in Google's collaboration with South Carolina. Our continued investment is a testament to the state's exceptional workforce and thriving business environment,” said Monique Picou, global VP of cloud supply chain and operations, Google.
“Google data centers are the backbone of digital services that underpin our modern lives, along with tech innovation like AI. We’re grateful for the collaboration with leaders in the state to not only grow our digital infrastructure here, but contribute to this thriving community.”
The facilities will help meet growing Google Cloud demand in the region. Google launched the US-East-1 region in South Carolina back in 2015.
“Google’s latest investment in our state will strongly reinforce South Carolina’s position as a leader in technology and innovation,” said South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster. “We are proud to support Google’s new operations in Dorchester County and value the opportunities they will create for the people of South Carolina.”
Google is developing a 230-acre data center campus at 1055 Research Center Drive in Ridgeville, Dorchester County – some 20 miles west of its existing campus. News of the project surfaced last year, with Google working behind the name Mallard, LLC for what was known as ‘Project Dawson.’
The second new campus is located in the Winding Woods Commerce Park in St. George, around 18 miles west of Ridgeville. Google, going by the aliases Project Evergreen and Gannett Enterprises LLC, acquired 206 acres in the park earlier this year.
Google's existing Moncks Corner data center in Berkeley County has been operational since 2007. The data center has been expanded several times over the years, bringing the total investment in the site up to $2.9 billion. It acquired an additional 143 acres in the same industrial park last year.
"We welcome Google’s historic investment in Dorchester County and the transformative economic opportunities it will bring,” said Dorchester County Council chair, Todd Friddle. “This project will have a lasting positive impact on our County, providing new jobs, elevating our schools, and enhancing the quality of life for our residents. Google’s proven track record of empowering local workforces and strengthening communities, including right here in the Lowcountry, makes them an invaluable partner for our region, and we are excited to work with them to build a brighter future for Dorchester County together.”
To date, Google said it has collaborated with South Carolina’s electric utilities to bring more than 128MW of new solar energy and battery storage resources to the state.
“Google has been a tremendous partner for Berkeley Electric Cooperative for years now – not only driving economic activity for our community, but also helping to lower costs for our members,” said Mike Fuller, CEO, Berkeley Electric. “Google's data centers positively transform our local energy landscape, and we are excited to continue growing with them in the years to come.”
