Google could spend $3B building Botetourt data centers

Documents recently filed with the state reveal the scope of the data center campus Google is planning in Botetourt County.

On the 312-acre parcel Google purchased at the Botetourt Center at Greenfield industrial park, the California-based tech behemoth plans to build three data center buildings — totaling about 921,000 square feet—  and three substations, according to documents Google filed in January as part of a permit application with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. The Roanoke Rambler first reported details of the documents Tuesday.

The sweep of the project detailed in the state application means Google will invest at least $3 billion and hire no fewer than 150 employees at a median salary of at least $86,000 per year if the first data center building is completed by 2030, according to the terms of a performance agreement between Botetourt County and Google.

On behalf of Google, the Timmons Group, a Chesterfield County-based engineering, design and technology services firm, requested permit authorizations from DEQ and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers because of “unavoidable impacts to jurisdictional surface waters” from construction of the data center campus in Botetourt, referred to as “Project Raspberry” in the documents.

In addition to the impact on surface waters, construction of the data center campus could also affect wildlife. There are two threatened or endangered species — the Indiana bat and the Roanoke logperch —that are “possibly present” within the project site or within a 2-mile search radius, according to the application.

In the documents, Google spells out why it selected Botetourt County for the project. Among the reasons cited, land in the county is cheaper than in Northern Virginia.

“Moreover, data center development has become increasingly appealing to counties outside of Northern Virginia for their ability to generate tax revenue to help fund county projects without negatively impacting existing infrastructure,” the documents stated.

This summer, Botetourt County announced Google had purchased the parcel at the industrial park for about $14.06 million and had pledged to give $4 million over the next five years to support community projects in Botetourt, which encompasses Roanoke suburbs and rural farmland.

In addition to the three data centers and three substations, Google plans to build a laydown area, an office building, parking lots and access roads at the Botetourt site.

Each data center will measure about 300,000 square feet, while the office building will be about 28,000 square feet, according to the documents.

In 2024, Charlottesville-based Apex Clean Energy announced it had reached a deal for Google to purchase the full capacity of Rocky Forge Wind, an onshore wind farm the company has worked to develop since 2015. It’s slated to become operational in 2026.

Data centers typically require water to cool equipment. In the documents filed with DEQ, Google states that Botetourt offers large-scale “water infrastructure improvements to ensure that an adequate supply of water …  for campus operations will be supplied by the county and are outlined in the county comprehensive plan.”

The Western Virginia Water Authority, which supplies water to the city of Roanoke and the counties of Roanoke, Franklin and Botetourt, supplies water to the Botetourt Center at Greenfield.

In contracts released to Virginia Business, the authority redacted the estimated water capacity volumes required by Google in Botetourt. In an email, Michael McEvoy, the authority’s executive director, explained the redactions by stating that the information was “provided to the authority voluntarily by a private business pursuant to a promise of confidentiality.”

The Roanoke Rambler sued the authority in October 2025 over its refusal to disclose how much water Google might use at a data center in Botetourt County. The authority is waiting to hear whether it receives a stay from the Virginia Court of Appeals, according to the news site.

In its DEQ application, Google identifies alternate sites for the project, but maintains those are not as suitable as the Botetourt Center at Greenfield. The alternate sites are about 512 acres south of U.S. Route 220 off Commonwealth Parkway in Rocky Mount; a 355-acre site in Roanoke County north of Interstate 81 off Corporate Circle and Glenmary Drive; and the Wood Haven Technology Park in Roanoke County.

None of the three alternative sites were found to be planning water infrastructure upgrades, according to the application. Furthermore, Wood Haven Technology Park is too small to accommodate three buildings, the documents stated.

“The specific location is critical due to the necessary confluence of required utilities, particularly sufficient electrical power, adjacent fiber connections, and available water,” Google stated in the application.

John Hull, president and CEO of the Roanoke Regional Partnership, which worked with Botetourt and other stakeholders to bring Google’s data center campus to the Roanoke Valley, said Wednesday that the company evaluated many locations throughout Virginia for the project.

“The Botetourt Center at Greenfield is the only one that provided the complete package for this specific requirement,” Hull said in a statement. “The sites mentioned in the permitting are all quality, planned industrial sites that can accommodate a wide range of sectors and project sizes. … At the end of the day, every project requirement is unique, according to a specific user’s needs and growth plans.”

The documents filed with the state also shed some light on why Google is seeking to build the data center campus.

Of note, the application reported that the commonwealth currently has 190 operating data centers, “concentrated primarily in the northern and central portions of the state.”

Additionally, “industry experts expect projected growth in generative artificial intelligence, cloud-based robotics, financial services and government sectors to result in a fivefold increase in data center capacity needs by 2030,” Google stated in the documents. “The applicant determined that, as of November 2025, they must double their serving capacity every six months to keep pace with current demand and avoid infrastructure bottlenecking.”