June 30, 2025 – Another data center is coming to Virginia, courtesy of Google.
Local officials announced Tuesday that the tech giant dropped $14 million for a 312 acre parcel of land in Botetourt County, located just north of Roanoke in the western part of the state. Google also committed to spend an additional $4 million improving the rural county’s fire department, law enforcement, schools, and other services, according to Botetourt County Administrator Gary Larrowe.
Virginia, known as the ‘Data Center Capital of the World’, is home to over 500 planned or operating data centers, though most are concentrated in the northern part of the state, which handles around 70% of global internet traffic. If constructed, Google’s data center would be the first in the county, and would consume all of the electrical output from the planned 79.3-megawatt Rocky Forge Wind power facility…