Google is making a big investment in Texas to the tune of $1 billion. According to a release, the tech giant will spend more than $1 billion to support its cloud and data center infrastructure. The company is also expanding its commitment to clean energy.

The $1 billion will be spent on data center campuses in Midlothian and Red Oak to help meet growing demand for Google Cloud, AI innovations, and other digital products and services such as Search, Maps, and Workspace.

The investment was announced at a conference in Midlothian on August 15, attended by muckymucks and politicians including U.S. Congressman Jake Ellzey, Google Cloud VP Yolande Piazza, Ted Cruz, and Citi CIO Shadman Zafar.

The Dallas cloud region is part of Google Cloud's global network of 40 regions that delivers services to large enterprises, startups, and public sector organizations.

In a statement, Piazza said that "expanding our cloud and data center infrastructure in Midlothian and Red Oak reflects our confidence in the state's ability to lead in the digital economy."

Data centers are the engines behind the growing digital economy. Google has helped train more than 1 million residents in digital skills through partnerships with 590 local organizations, including public libraries, chambers of commerce, and community colleges.

In addition to its cloud region and Midlothian data center, Google has offices in Austin, Dallas, and Houston. The new Google’s total investment in Texas to more than $2.7 billion.

Exactly how the $1 billion-plus will be spent, they do not say.

"It is just to support infrastructure of the facilities, evenly distributed — that's as much as we know at this time," a spokesperson says.

If you Google "how to improve data centers," AI offers these suggestions:

• Airflow management - Helps regulate the temperature and protects servers from dust and other debris.
• Cooling - Data centers need enough airflow to keep systems cool and prevent overheating.
• Energy efficiency - Data centers consume a lot of energy to power and cool equipment, so increasing energy efficiency can reduce a data center's carbon footprint. Some strategies include using energy-efficient equipment, adopting renewable energy, and reducing waste.
• Hot-aisle/cold-aisle - This arrangement of server racks separates hot and cold airflows to optimize energy efficiency
• Optimize storage - Optimizing databases can reclaim unused space, which can improve efficiency and performance.

… Although that doesn't sound like $1 billion worth of investment.

Clean energy
Google has also forged long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) with Elawan, Engie N.A., Grupo Cobra, and X-ELIO for solar energy based in Texas. Together, these new agreements are expected to provide 375 MW of carbon-free energy capacity, which will help support Google’s operations in Texas.

These agreements were facilitated through LEAP (LevelTen Energy’s Accelerated Process) , which was co-developed by Google and LevelTen Energy to make sourcing and executing clean energy PPAs more efficient, and contributes to the company’s ambitious 2030 goal to run on 24/7 carbon-free energy on every grid where it operates.

The company has contracted with energy partners to bring more than 2,800 megawatts (MW) of new wind and solar projects to the state. Google’s CFE percentage in the ERCOT grid region, which powers its Texas data centers, nearly doubled from 41 percent in 2022 to 79 percent in 2023.