Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak speaks at the Google groundbreaking on July 1.
HENDERSON, Nev. — On July 1, Google broke ground in Southern Nevada on its newest data center and announced a new Google Cloud region.
The new facility in Henderson represents a $600 million investment in Nevada's internet infrastructure, and the new Google Cloud region is designed to better serve Google Cloud customers operating in the Western U.S., according to a July 1 press release from The Abbi Agency.
Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak and U.S. Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen were among those who joined Google.org President Jacquelline Fuller at the July 1 ceremonial groundbreaking event.
“I'm excited about the jobs that this investment will bring to Nevada, as well as the fact that this investment in innovation is taking place in our state," Cortez Masto said in a provided statement. “I've always believed Nevada is an innovation state, and today marks another step in a great direction.”
There, the tech company also kicked off the $1 million "Google.org Impact Challenge Nevada" and called on nonprofits to submit their boldest ideas to create economic opportunities for their community, according to the news release.
“Google is excited to be investing in Nevada,” Fuller said in a statement. “Google is growing at a faster rate outside the Bay Area than in it. With our new data center and the Google.org Impact Challenge, we are thrilled to join the Henderson community and to help create economic opportunities for Nevadans.”
State officials in late 2018 approved an application for Google to build the $600 million data center in the city of Henderson.
It's one chunk of a massive $13 billion plan from the tech giant to build new and expanded data centers and offices across the U.S. this year, an investment CEO Sundar Pichai announced in February.
In addition to the Henderson plant, Google plans to build new data centers this year in Nevada, Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Ohio, South Carolina and Virginia. Pichai estimates this will lead to 10,000 new jobs.
“This investment in Nevada will have a direct impact on our communities and increase the amount of STEM jobs available right here in our own state,” Rosen sad at the July 1 groundbreaking. “The Google Impact Challenge will help those nonprofits throughout the state that have great ideas and allow them to move forward with their goals, ultimately leading to an even better Nevada.”
The groundbreaking comes after Google in 2017 spent roughly $29 million to buy 1,210 acres of land at the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center to lock down land for a future data center campus.
It also comes days after the Grow with Google campaign toured the Silver State to hold daylong digital skills workshops at the East Las Vegas and Carson City libraries on June 18 and June 19.
According to the press release, once Nevada nonprofits apply for a portion of the $1 million Google.org Impact Challenge, a panel of judges will select the top five submissions to receive $175,000.
Afterward, the public can vote to select a “People's Choice” winner to receive the remaining $125,000.
The panel of judges, which includes Northern Nevada representation, is as follows:
“Nevada is invested in helping our small business community thrive in a growing economy,” Sisolak said in a statement. “Initiatives such as Google's Impact Challenge create loyal partnerships that help small businesses invest back into our communities.”
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