When the Chesterfield Economic Development team set out seven years ago to expand and diversify the county’s commercial tax base by tapping into America’s growing data center industry, it wasn’t looking to attract just any company.

It wound up landing the gold standard: Google.

“Not all data centers are created equal. To work with the Rolls-Royce of data center operators means a lot,” said Midlothian District Supervisor Dr. Mark Miller, vice chair of the Board of Supervisors, at the board’s Wednesday meeting.

During an event earlier in the day, Google announced it will build a state-of-the-art data center in Chesterfield as the anchor of $9 billion in new investment across Virginia through 2026.

According to company spokesperson Amber Tillman, Google already has broken ground on the 300-plus-acre Bermuda Hundred site where it plans to construct a multiphase data center campus. Construction is expected to begin by the end of this year and typically takes 18 to 24 months to complete.

Once the new Chesterfield data center is operational, it will join the Loudoun County and Prince William County campuses as part of Google’s global network of data centers. 

Google operates some of the industry’s most energy-efficient data centers, equipping its facilities with high-performance servers designed to use as little energy as possible compared to the amount of data they process. The company continuously monitors the performance of its worldwide fleet using a metric known as Power Usage Effectiveness.

“We have commitments from an energy standpoint to be operating on 24-7 carbon-free power, which means for every hour of the day we offset our use with carbon-free resources across the grids where we operate,” Tillman said.

Google also continues to work closely with utilities, policymakers and developers across Virginia to drive solutions for increasing energy capacity and affordability. That includes a deal with Commonwealth Fusion Systems to purchase 200 megawatts of power from the first-of-its-kind commercial fusion energy plant the Massachusetts-based company is planning to build in Chesterfield. 

“I think they have a technology that is going to change the world and the commitment your company is showing in partnering with them is very important to the community,” said Matoaca District Supervisor Kevin Carroll. “A company like Google wouldn’t make that kind of investment in a start-up if you didn’t have all the confidence in the world that they can deliver what they say they’re going to do.” 

The new Google data center represents easily the largest capital investment in Chesterfield’s history – the facility will generate millions in local tax revenue annually – and it’s just the beginning of the company’s long-range plans in the county.

At Wednesday’s board meeting, Tillman acknowledged that Google purchased two other sites in Chesterfield earlier this year: an 880-acre property at Upper Magnolia Green and a 350-acre section of Watkins Centre South adjacent to Route 288. 

“Those are for future development,” she said, noting that Google is focused on getting the Bermuda Hundred data center campus up and running. 

Until Wednesday’s announcement, Google’s ownership of the three properties had been shielded from the public under a nondisclosure agreement with the Chesterfield Economic Development Authority.

“After seven years of working behind the scenes, we’re thrilled to say Google – that’s right, Google – has chosen to invest right here in Chesterfield,” said Board of Supervisors Chair Jim Ingle (Bermuda District) in remarks during the event at Brightpoint Community College.

Later Wednesday, Ingle expressed appreciation for the company’s commitment to mitigate its impact on the power grid and Chesterfield’s water resources.

“As we’ve learned in this region, water is very important. We wanted to be sure that anything we’d approve was not going to impact the water supply for our citizens,” he added. “Most of the concerns we hear about data centers are things your company has done a fantastic job of addressing. I hope that brings some comfort to the community, that all of those things were discussed and addressed before we moved forward on those projects.”