Google plans $1 billion Hertfordshire data centre for AI

The 33-acre site “will bring crucial compute capacity to businesses across the UK” says Google, “supporting AI innovation and helping to ensure reliable digital services to Google Cloud customers and Google users in the UK and abroad”.

It will “create construction and technical jobs for the local community,” adds the company.

Data centres, of course, power the company’s offerings such as Search, Maps, YouTube, Workspace, AI and Google Cloud. There’s no indication yet of how many people will actually be employed at the centre.

The Waltham Cross facility will have provisions for off-site heat recovery, allowing the capture of heat generated by the data centre so that it can be used by nearby homes and businesses. The data centre is also set to deploy an air-based cooling system, says Google.

The company has a goal to completely run all its data centres and campuses on carbon-free energy by 2030.

Google UK investment

As part of its announcement, Google highlighted its other UK investments (it describes the UK as “a key country for our business and a pioneering world leader in AI, technology and science”).

These include, previously, its $1bn purchase of its Central Saint Giles office, its 1 million square foot office development in King’s Cross, and its Accessibility Discovery Centre, all of which are in London.

In 2021, the company also laid a new subsea cable – Grace Hopper – which connects the UK with the United States and Spain.

In 2022 it announced a power purchase agreement with ENGIE for offshore wind energy generated by the Moray West wind farm in Scotland. This will, it says, add 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.

Also, it writes:

“We have visited more than 500 locations across the UK since 2015 and provided over 1 million people with free digital skills training. Just last year, we expanded our Google Digital Garage training programme to also include a new AI-focussed curriculum to enable more Brits to tap into the opportunities to benefit from the opportunities created by this technology.”

Image: Google – Artist’s impression of the Hertfordshire site

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