A $600 million expansion has been announced by Google for its data center near Pryor in northeast Oklahoma.
Executives with the company say it is part of a $2.5 billion plan to expand data centers in Oklahoma, Alabama, Oregon, Tennessee and Virginia.
Google will construct a new four-story data center where already 400 people are employed. The Pryor operation is Google’s second-largest data center in the U.S.
“Oklahoma has proven to be an important home for Google since opening our data center operations here in 2011,” said Andrew Silvestri, head of external affairs. “We’ve been able to accelerate our growth here in part due to the incredible support from our Mayes County partners and the state of Oklahoma.”
When Google opened the Pryor operation, it invested more than $2.5 billion in the site. Google has corporate offices and data centers in 21 states.
The announcement brought a response from Gov. Mary Fallin.
“Google continues to be a valuable partner in our state by reinvesting in the community. It has donated more than $2 million in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) grants and tech programs, which is another reason I’m pleased Google has chosen to grow in Oklahoma.”