Google opened a new data center in the Dutch place Winschoten today. The facility will contribute to the demand for services such as Google Cloud, Workspace, and Search. The data center strengthens the Google Cloud region in the Netherlands and allows residual heat to be returned to the local heating network.
The data center in Winschoten was announced in December 2023 with an investment of €600 million. Almost two years later, the facility is now operational. Google started construction in December 2023 and now works with 160 Dutch suppliers, 77 of which are in the province of Groningen. The data centers in the Netherlands, including the Winschoten location, currently employ approximately 700 people in permanent and project positions.
The new location strengthens the Google Cloud region in the Netherlands, part of the global network of 42 regions. “A strong digital infrastructure forms the backbone of our economy and is crucial to realizing the AI ambitions in the Netherlands,” says Marco Ynema, Google’s data center lead in the Netherlands.
Sustainability at the core
Google claims to be one of the most energy-efficient data center companies in the world. The company strives for 24/7 CO2-free energy. The location in Winschoten is equipped to return residual heat to the heating network for local homes, schools, or businesses. The building has solar panels on the roof and uses advanced air cooling to limit water consumption to domestic use.
To date, Google has supported more than 1 gigawatt of clean energy capacity in the Netherlands. This year, it announced a unique power purchase agreement with Shell, enabling the first-ever extension of an offshore wind farm’s lifetime. Since 2010, Google has signed agreements in Europe supporting more than 4.5 gigawatts of new clean energy capacity.
In 2021, Google invested €45 million in a water treatment plant that processes water from the Eemskanaal and supplies it to companies in the Groningen port areas for cooling, including the data center in Eemshaven.
Tip: Google’s CO2 emissions double: AI demands high environmental price