Google expands data center footprint in Alabama and Austria, pledges to pay power bills

Google announced a $1.5 billion expansion of its data center on the former Widows Creek coal‑plant site in Jackson County, Alabama. The company will cover 100 % of the electricity used by the facility, securing more than 300 MW of new generation capacity and a partnership for up to 50 MW of advanced nuclear power, in response to a Gallup poll showing 71 % of nearby residents oppose new data centers.

In Europe, Google is opening its first Austrian data center in Kronstorf, Upper Austria. The new campus joins roughly ten existing server farms in the region operated by firms such as Linz AG and the eww‑Group. According to the Austrian Datacenter Association, demand is rising sharply, with the EU Commission estimating that European data‑center capacity must triple by 2030 to support AI and other workloads.