By Matt de Simone
Google hosted a community open house last Wednesday evening at Lord Botetourt High School, giving residents an opportunity to learn more about the company’s proposed data center campus in Botetourt County while opponents of the project demonstrated outside.
The event featured informational displays and representatives from Google, Appalachian Power, and project consultants who answered questions about the proposed development, which would be located near the Botetourt Center at Greenfield. The open house came amid ongoing public discussion surrounding the project, with supporters pointing to potential economic benefits and opponents raising concerns about water use, infrastructure demands, and long-term impacts on the community.
Representatives from Google, Appalachian Power, and project consultants staffed information stations throughout the evening and answered questions from attendees.
According to Google representatives, the purpose of the event was to provide information about the project and hear feedback from residents as planning and engineering work continues.
“We’re here to learn with the community,” a Google representative said. “We’re here to get feedback, to talk back and forth, and share: what are the needs of the community?”
The information presented during Thursday’s open house offered considerably more detail than what was available when the project was first announced last July. While early discussions focused primarily on the economic development opportunity and potential tax revenue associated with the project, displays and conversations at the event addressed topics that have become central to public debate over the past year, including water usage, electrical infrastructure, employment projections, and long-term planning.
Many of those issues have also been the focus of concerns raised by residents and organized opposition groups as public discussion surrounding the proposed data center has grown.
Water usage emerged as one of the most frequently discussed topics during the event.
When asked what residents most misunderstand about the project’s projected water use, a Google representative said there is a difference between water allocation and anticipated usage.
“Think of going on a road trip. You leave the house, and you fill up your car with gas all the way to the top, even if you’re only going a fraction of what your car can go,” the representative said.
The representative said Google seeks enough water allocation to meet the maximum level of potential demand, even though actual usage may be lower.
“We need to make sure that we have enough for the maximum level use,” the representative said. “If we don’t use it, it gets returned back into be available for everybody else to use.”
Google representatives also addressed questions regarding electrical infrastructure and energy demand. Information displayed at the event stated that power for the proposed campus would be delivered through the regional electric grid and that Google would fund infrastructure improvements associated with serving the facility.
According to materials presented during the open house, large energy users are required to pay costs associated with infrastructure upgrades needed to support additional demand. Representatives said those improvements can help support reliability within the system.
Economic development and employment opportunities were also highlighted throughout the event.
Google representatives said Botetourt County has already received approximately $18 million related to the project.
“I think what we’ve already seen, the county’s already received $18 million in funding from the project, from which they’ve bought fire trucks, ambulances– all the good stuff that everybody wants in their community,” the representative said.
Looking ahead, company officials said residents should evaluate the project’s success through employment and tax revenue.
“Five years after the project is operational, we should have a pretty solid headcount,” the representative said.
Based on similar projects elsewhere in the country, Google representatives said comparable facilities employ about 400 people.
“These are high-paying jobs, on average, $86,000, $100,000 per year,” the representative said. “Many of them much higher.”
Outside the school, members of the Southwest Virginia Data Center Transparency Alliance and other opponents gathered along U.S. 220 carrying signs expressing concerns about water resources, taxation, growth, and the overall impact of data centers on the community. The demonstration remained peaceful throughout the evening as participants greeted passing motorists and encouraged residents to learn more about the proposal.
Google representatives said the project remains in the design and engineering phase and added that plans displayed during the open house remain preliminary.
“Everything we see here tonight is preliminary and subject to change,” the representative said.
The company said future updates will be posted through the project’s website as planning and engineering work continues.
