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Google’s data center in Jackson County, Alabama, has crossed the $2 billion mark in total investment since breaking ground in 2018. What started as a roughly $600 million facility built on a repurposed coal plant site has grown into a sprawling operation that now ranks among the company’s most significant infrastructure bets in the Southeast.
From coal plant to compute power
The Jackson County facility sits on approximately 350 to 360 acres of land that previously housed a coal plant. The data center began operations gradually between 2018 and 2022. It currently supports between 75 and 100 permanent jobs, alongside the construction positions that come with ongoing buildouts of this scale.
Google’s cumulative spend has now surpassed $2 billion, a figure that includes the original construction, subsequent expansions, and the infrastructure costs the company covers directly. The investment has generated $2.6 billion in economic activity for Alabama businesses, nonprofits, and creators in 2025, according to Google’s own accounting.
Nuclear energy enters the picture
Perhaps the most notable development is Google’s August 2025 deal to bring nuclear power into the mix. The company signed a power purchase agreement with Kairos Power and the Tennessee Valley Authority to integrate up to 50 megawatts of advanced nuclear energy into its power supply for the Alabama facility.
The partnership with Kairos Power is especially interesting because the company builds small modular reactors using molten fluoride salt coolant, a next-generation design that promises safer and more flexible deployment compared to traditional nuclear plants.
Google has also engaged with over 153,000 Alabama residents through various training programs.
What this means for investors
The more interesting signal here is the emphasis on operational efficiency and sustainability over raw capacity expansion. Google appears to be prioritizing making its existing Alabama infrastructure more reliable and cost-effective, rather than simply throwing up new buildings as fast as possible.
For Alphabet shareholders, the nuclear energy deal is worth watching closely. The risk is execution: Kairos Power’s technology is still relatively early-stage in terms of commercial deployment, and the timeline for actually delivering those 50 megawatts could slip.
Microsoft has struck its own nuclear deals. Amazon has been buying data center campuses near nuclear plants. Alabama’s relatively cheap land and the TVA’s power grid give Google some natural advantages in the region.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
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