Google to invest $1 billion in a new UK data centre

Google to invest $1 billion in a new UK data centre with reinforced goal to run all of its data centres on carbon-free energy by 2030.

The 33-acre site will create construction and technical jobs for the local community.

Once complete, this investment will bring crucial compute capacity to businesses across the UK, supporting AI innovation and helping to ensure reliable digital services to Google Cloud customers and Google users in the UK and abroad.

Additionally, Google have set out an ambitious goal to run all of its data centres and campuses on carbon-free energy (CFE), every hour of every day by 2030.

In support of this goal, in 2022 Google announced a power purchase agreement with ENGIE for offshore wind energy generated by the Moray West wind farm in Scotland. 

This agreement adds 100 MW of energy to the grid, and put Google’s UK operations on track to operate at or near 90% carbon-free energy in 2025.

Additionally, Google has announced new and innovative ways to use the heat generated by data centres, and this new facility will also have provisions for off-site heat recovery.

Off-site heat recovery presents an opportunity for energy conservation that benefits the local community, as it will allow Google to capture the heat generated by the data centre so that it can be used by nearby homes and businesses. 

Find out more here.