Google has announced its plans to invest $3.3 billion in two new data centers in South Carolina. The news comes as rivals, including Microsoft and Amazon, have started investing heavily in infrastructure upgrades for use in AI, as they provide the necessary computing power, data storage, and network connectivity, all essential for processing vast amounts of data efficiently.
Out of the $3.3 billion, a significant portion of the investment, $2 billion, will be allocated for campuses at Pine Hill Business Campus in Ridgeville and Winding Woods Commerce Park in St. George. The other $1.3 billion would be used to expand Google"s existing data center in Berkeley County and is expected to create 200 operational jobs in the region.
Google is not the only big tech company that is expanding its data centers. Microsoft recently announced a massive $30 billion fund to invest in AI infrastructure which includes building data centers, energy projects, and more, in partnership with BlackRock and an investment firm. Google is itself investing €1 billion (around $1.1 billion) in expanding its data center in Finland and $2 billion in an AI data center in Malaysia.
Amazon is also investing $11 billion in new data centers in Indiana and even includes four solar farms and a wind farm, with a combined capacity of more than 600 MW for the data center"s energy needs.
Energy demand is likely to soar as big tech companies continue to build and expand energy-hungry data centers across the globe to meet their AI capabilities. However, they are likely to be run on green energy in the near future. A notable example is Microsoft"s recent announcement to revive the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania. The facility, infamous for a significant nuclear accident in 1979, will now supply 835 megawatts of power to support Microsoft"s data centers, as the company aims to run all its data centers on clean energy by 2025.
Source: Reuters | Image via Depositphotos.com