CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – (CLARKSVILLENOW) Google held a groundbreaking event Friday, Feb. 16, 2018 with plans for a $600 million investment in a new data center located at the site of the former Hemlock Semiconductor at 100 Solar Way.
The new data center in Clarksville is part of a $2.5 billion investment Google is making to open or expand data centers in four other states. The centers answer millions of searches each day in Tennessee with around 18,000 businesses and nonprofits using Google’s search and advertising tools.
Construction of the Clarksville center will involve at least 1,000 construction workers and when it is completed, it will employ at least 70 workers.
“Today we are excited to officially break ground in Clarksville-Montgomery County right here in Tennessee on our newest data center. Our teams look all across the country for the best sites for theses facilities. Tennessee stood out because of its outstanding work force, access to clean energy, education, and the infrastructure here,” Google CEO Sundar Pichai.
Google also announced that the company will invest $300,000 in Goodwill Industries of Middle TN, as well as create at least 100 new scholarships for local students.
“We’re proud to be a growing part of the Clarksville/Montgomery County community and others like it across the country,” Pichai said. “And we’re committed to helping more people participate in the opportunities that technology provides. Our goal is to ensure that information serves everyone, not just a few. To do this, we want to hire people to develop our products in the widest possible range of locations, around the world and throughout the United States.”
Pichai said the data centers also have a strong impact on the economies around them.
“People often discuss ‘the cloud’ as if it’s built out of air. But it’s actually made up of buildings, machinery, and people who construct and manage it all. Today we employ an estimated 1,900 people directly on our data center campuses. We’ve created thousands of construction jobs—both for our data centers themselves, and for renewable energy generation,” he said.
“The launch of Google’s data center in Clarksville is great news for Montgomery County,” U.S. Senator Bob Corker said. “These high-quality jobs will benefit families in a real way, and I applaud Google’s mission to improve education and advance workforce development for Americans.”
Clarksville Mayor Kim McMillan and Montgomery County Mayor Jim Durrett also spoke at the groundbreaking.
“You can be sure that we will be great partners as we move forward. Google’s $600 million investment and initial addition of 70 quality jobs is a huge vote of confidence in the future of our community,” McMillan said.
“You really can’t ask for anything to generate as much enthusiasm and energy as being able to say Google is part of our community. Ladies and gentlemen this is a win for our community, and Google in itself is an economic engine,” Durrett said.
The new data center is expected to be built and go online next year.