‘That’s a game changer’: LaGrange excited to be the site of a Google data center

Google has officially announced its plans to construct a new data center in LaGrange, Georgia, marking its second facility in the state. The tech giant finalized a deal with the City of LaGrange on Tuesday morning for the site at 411 Pegasus Parkway, strategically located off Interstate 85. City officials, including City Manager Patrick Bowie, expressed enthusiasm for the project, highlighting its potential to modernize city infrastructure and significantly enhance municipal revenue. LaGrange, which relies on utility revenue instead of property taxes to fund services like police and road maintenance, expects the power contract with Google to potentially double its utility income. Katie Ottenweller, Google's Energy Market Development Lead for the Eastern US, noted that the data center would serve as a critical "digital backbone" powering Google's global operations. While Google emphasized that the LaGrange data center would be among the most energy-efficient nationwide, questions regarding resource consumption were raised. The company stated it would bear all costs associated with new generation resources. Regarding water usage, Google's previous Douglas County data center was designed to use 100% recycled water, though its sustainability report indicates only 17% returns to the supply, with 366 million gallons lost to evaporation. However, LaGrange officials are confident in their ample water supply, drawing parallels to its history as a textile town with higher past water usage. Google has committed to replenishing 120% of the water consumed at the new site.