Goggle Inc. will build a $600 million hosting facility in Council Bluffs western Iowa, which sits on nearly 1,200 acres of land

June 20, 2007 - (TopHosts News Brief) - According to recent reports, Google Inc. plans to spend $600 million on a data center in Council Bluffs western Iowa.

Google plans to start operations at the facility by spring of 2009, and said the region is a busy crossroads of Internet activity. Construction in Council Bluffs has already begun. The western Iowa facility exists on nearly 1,200 acres of land, with room for expansion. It will employ about 200 workers who will keep the facility running 24 hours a day.

Google has not given out specific details about this facility or its other data center plans around the world, including projects in Oklahoma, North Carolina and South Carolina. MidAmerican Energy Co. will supply the electricity to the facility, but would not reveal how much electricity the data center will consume, because of a confidentiality agreement with Google.

Recent news suggests Google and other big players like Microsoft Corp. are building very large facilities in areas with cheap electricity — recognizing the recent decline in computing power and data storage costs. It might be a way to differentiate themselves from smaller service providers that can’t make large, up-front investments in infrastructure.