Google announces additional data centers in Central Ohio, officials celebrate investment
Governor Mike DeWine speaks at the Ohio Chamber of Commerce in which Google announces the deployment of two additional data centers to Central Ohio. Representatives with Google and officials from across the state recently came together in downtown Columbus at the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, in the former Columbus Dispatch Building, to recognize the historic investment of two additional data centers by the tech giant in the Buckeye State. Central Ohio has positioned itself as the next Silicon Valley in recent years, dubbed the ‘Silicon Hearthand,’ as other tech leaders such as Amazon and Facebook have also deployed data centers in the region. In early 2022, Intel announced they were coming to the state with a pledged initial $20 billion dollar investment to construct two leading-edge chip factories, reshoring the manufacture of computer chips deemed critical to national security and the domestic economy. At an event held earlier this month, the announcement that Google would be deploying two additional data centers in the region, one in Lancaster and one in Columbus, was met with praise from government and business leaders alike. Elected leaders from the state’s executive branch, members of Congress, local Statehouse representatives, area mayors and many others echoed one another that the continued investment by many tech giants has and will continue to profoundly change Ohio’s place in the new digital economy. “It’s a huge announcement for Ohio, one in a series of great announcements in the past few years,” said State Senator Tim Schaffer of the 20th District, who represents the territory of Google’s new data center in Lancaster and also the massive sprawling tech site in western Licking County home to Google, Facebook, Amazon and soon Intel as well as its many manufactures. “This is the rebirth of an industrial state into the new modern economy.” Schaffer says industry leaders choosing Central Ohio as they expand their domestic footprints and reshore their critical manufacturing back to the continental United States is a win not just for the economy but gives hope to students that high-paying jobs are here and many more are ‘just on the horizon.’ “Don’t think this is the last announcement we are going to have,” Schaffer said smiling. Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens, a representative from rural southeast Ohio, was also in attendance for the announcement. Stephens has been instrumental in the legislature along with former local Representative Brian Stewart at expanding rural broadband with plans for near-ubiquity of high-speed internet coverage in the coming years with billions of dollars of both state and federal allocations being deployed at this very moment to make that goal a reality. As Y-City News has previously reported , multiple fiber backbone providers have crossed rural Ohio in recent years with 288-strand fiber optic cables – officially capable of at least hundreds of terabits per second. “The future of Ohio is extremely bright, it’s exciting to see an announcement of this magnitude,” said Stephens. “It’s great for all parts of the state, not just Central Ohio but those in the surrounding areas that will benefit from the eventual spin-offs.” U.S. Representative Troy Balderson, of the 12th Congressional District, an invited speaker at the announcement, spoke about Google’s investments in the regions it deploys to, including as he detailed, the promotion and financial support of various 4-H projects and programs in Ohio. “It’s very special, its differential change for our Appalachian community’s kids,” said Balderson, whose district, like Schaffer’s, covers both the Lancaster site as well as the mega tech site in western Licking County. “With these developments, they now have opportunities that a lot of kids didn’t have growing up.” Balderson noted it’s also not just the tech industry coming to Ohio, citing Amgen’s deployment of a new biomanufacturing plant in Central Ohio that will bring high-paying jobs on top of its $365 million investment in the region. Developments such as Intel would not have been possible without federal support in the way of the CHIPS Act which recognizes both the national security and domestic economic need for cutting-edge computer chips being produced in the continental United States, protected against disruptions by foreign adversaries, such as China. Like Speaker Stephens, Balderson, who has devoted significant time and resources to rural broadband throughout his career, said the deployment of the many data centers in Central Ohio would benefit residents across the state by increasing broadband access via additionally deployed fiberoptic lines. “It’s a big blessing because it seems like we’ve been talking about it since 2007,” said […]
