Google Plans $6 Bn Push to Build Data Centre, Source Renewable Energy in Andhra Pradesh: Key Takeaways

Outlook Business Desk

Google’s $6 Bn Data Centre Bet

Google will invest $6 billion to set up a 1-gigawatt data centre in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. This is Alphabet’s largest data centre investment in Asia and its first such project in India, signalling a major digital push.

PinInterest

Powered by Green Energy

The data centre project includes $2 billion for renewable energy, which will power the facility. This clean energy investment is part of Google’s broader sustainability goals, according to Andhra Pradesh government sources familiar with the plan, Reuters reported.

FreePik

Asia’s Largest Facility

Google’s Visakhapatnam data centre will be the largest in Asia by both capacity and investment. It’s part of a multi-billion-dollar expansion by Google across the region, including new data centre projects in Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand.

FreePik

Alphabet’s Global Push

In April, Alphabet confirmed its commitment to invest around $75 billion this year to expand global data centre capacity, even as economic uncertainty persists due to trade tensions linked to US President Donald Trump’s global tariff policies.

State’s Investment Drive

The Andhra Pradesh government has been seeking investments to ease pressure from high state-level debt and social spending.

Massive Capacity Boost

Andhra Pradesh IT Minister Nara Lokesh, who is in Singapore to discuss investment and business opportunities with the nation-state, said Andhra Pradesh has secured 1.6 GW in data centre deals and targets 6 GW in five years. The initial 1.6 GW, expected in 24 months, will exceed India’s current total capacity of 1.4 GW.

Linkedin

Cable Network Expansion

"We're also working on getting three cable landing stations in Visakhapatnam. We want to create enough of cable network, which will be two times what Mumbai has today," Lokesh said. These stations handle data from global undersea cables.

Linkedin

10 GW Power Demand

Lokesh also said Andhra Pradesh is working to strengthen its energy infrastructure to meet the sustainability needs of data centres. He expects the power demand from this electricity-heavy sector to reach up to 10 gigawatts over the next five years.

By Freepik

Green Power Will Lead

"Majority will end up being actually green energy, and that's the unique value proposition that we bring to the table," he said. Some of the additional capacity will be coal-fired, however, as data centres require reliable, high volume power throughout the day.

PinInterest

Starlink to Serve Just 20 Lakh Users in India: Govt Explains Why & What to Expect

Read More