Google to Spend Another $600M in North Carolina

LENOIR, NC-Google has announced plans for a $600-million expansion of its data center here.

The additional funding brings Google's investment in North Carolina to $1.2 billion. The announcement on Friday by Google was attended by North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory, along with U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows, N.C. Sen. Dan Soucek, N.C. Rep. Edgar Starnes (Majority Leader), Duke Energy State President Paul Newton and Google Operations Manager Enoch Moeller.

The data center in Caldwell County houses computer systems and associated components that support Google search, Gmail, Google+ and YouTube. Google and state officials did not report the added investment's economic impact in terms of new company jobs or construction jobs.

Also announced by Google are plans to participate in a new program Duke Energy is developing for large customers that wish to buy renewable energy. Duke Energy will make a regulatory filing proposing the new program with the North Carolina Utilities Commission in the next 90 days.

“It is great news for Caldwell County and our state that Google has decided to expand its operations in western North Carolina,” said Governor McCrory. “They are a valuable economic resource in the area and a great example of a company that prioritizes environmental stewardship.”

“North Carolina and the Lenoir community are great places in which to work and grow,” said Google's Moeller. “When Google builds a data center, it chooses a site large enough to accommodate growth and a site where we want to establish a long-term commitment to the local community.”

Google first announced plans for a North Carolina data center in 2007 and made an initial investment of $600 million to get the center up and running. In November 2010, Google announced plans to construct a second building at the site, and it is now serving traffic, company officials stated.