Google confirms data center to be built in West Memphis

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Google confirms they are building a data center campus in West Memphis, Arkansas.

Google said in a statement that they are partnering with its utility provider, Entergy, and Google will cover the full energy costs associated with powering its facility.

“We are also working together to bring new solar energy and battery storage resources online, and to integrate innovative load flexibility into our power contract to reduce our usage during times when the grid is constrained. We look forward to engaging with the West Memphis community and will be sharing more details soon,” said Google’s Regional Head of Data Center Public Affairs, Laurel Brown.

“We’re proud to be partnering with Google on this exciting new project, bringing unprecedented economic opportunity to Arkansas. Our work to transform the power we provide is playing a key role in enabling the vision the Governor and the General Assembly established to become a national leader in economic development for the benefit of all Arkansans,” said Entergy Arkansas President and CEO Laura Landreaux.

“Together, we’re powering growth and building a stronger, more vibrant future for the next generation. Google’s investment in Arkansas will stimulate economic growth in Northeast Arkansas and across the state, and we’re pleased to welcome Google to Arkansas,” said Landreaux.

In May, West Memphis officials told WREG Groot LLC is a U.S.-based Fortune 100 company. There is no company by that name listed on the Fortune 100 list, but Alphabet, the parent company of Google, is No. 8 on that list. The Arkansas Secretary of State’s website lists a Delaware company with a Little Rock address by that name.

Plans were submitted by Groot LLC to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for environmental approval of a data center site in West Memphis.

Those plans call for a data center campus consisting of five large-scale data center buildings, supporting office buildings, parking areas, internal access roads, a utility substation, stormwater management facilities, utilities and associated infrastructure on 920 acres at the south end of Bollinger Road, behind the Coca-Cola distribution warehouse.

News of a proposed data center in West Memphis came to light last year, though the company behind it was not revealed in May.

In May, city officials said the company was requesting 10 MW of power, which would be supplied through Entergy.

They also said the project was expected to create some 300 jobs as of last year.

Google has an operations center in Southaven, Mississippi, about 16 miles southeast of the Arkansas site.

There are currently 11 data centers in the Memphis area, including xAI’s Colossus supercomputer and a second xAI site under construction in Whitehaven, according to datacentermap.com. Late last month, another company revealed it is building a 15 MW data center at a former company headquarters on Getwell Road in Memphis.