Google answers questions about its Allen County data center.
Google made its first public appearance in the community at the Lima Rotary Club Monday to talk about the data center it's building in American Township. Google's Head of Public Affairs-Midwest, Molly Cocour Boyle told us that data centers are part of every interaction we have with the internet. "The cloud isn't in the sky. It is firmly rooted to the ground. The cloud is a physical place. It's a building. A data center is a machine, the engine room of the internet. Inside these highly secured facilities are thousands of computer servers, all connected by miles of fiber optic cables." Boyle told us that when we make a request to the internet, that request "travels at the speed of light through fiber optic cables to a server inside a data center. The server retries the information and sends it back to you. In milliseconds." Dirt is currently being moved at the American Township site and we should see construction begin in the second or third quarter. The $500 million project includes $50 for local infrastructure improvements, a $250,000 annual payment to the Elida Local School District, thousands of construction and infrastructure jobs, and hundreds of permanent jobs. Boyle says that Google is environmentally conscious. By 2030, they will replenish 120% of the water they consume. "We are not here to deplete local resources, we are here to invest in the watershed to ensure a secure, reliable water supply for the next generation of Ohio families, businesses and farmers." She says they will also have sensors along the property line to ensure that noise does not exceed 65 decibels. The data center is expected to open in 2028.