Tech mogul Google has announced that they will be expanding the Belgian data center located at Saint-Ghislain. With this expansion, which has an investment worth USD 314M, Google will provide data center services to European businesses, making the Belgian data center a digital pioneer.
Google say that along with a business vision, they also harbor an eco-friendly plan to build 11,000 solar panels at the same site, to generate energy for these data centers. They further added that this vision has come into being since businesses are aware of their global carbon footprint while looking to reduce the same. Explaining this, Joe Kava, Vice President of Global Data Centers at Google, said:
The photovoltaic installations will feature 10,665 solar panels and will generate 2.9 Gigawatt hour of clean, reliable, renewable energy every year.
With the addition of this data center in Belgium, Google feel that they will give rise to job opportunities, contributing to the nation’s economy. They further added that with Belgium becoming a focal point for businesses in Europe, the data center is poised to attract more business opportunities. Emphasizing this, Charles Michel, Prime Minister of Belgium, commented:
The digital world is constantly changing, and Belgium is becoming more and more attractive for big investors like Google. This new investment is excellent news for the Walloon region and Belgium in terms of job creation.
Echoing Michel’s statement, Kava commented :
We’re grateful to the local and national government, local suppliers and community for their continued support of our data center presence in Belgium. We hope it contributes to make Belgium a digital frontrunner in Europe, creating jobs, skills development and economic opportunities.