Google data centers: 88 sites mapped

Water has driven the biggest local fight over a Google data center. In Botetourt County, Virginia, an agreement between Helios Botetourt, the entity developing Google's campus, and the Western Virginia Water Authority allows the site to draw 2 million to 8 million gallons a day from Carvins Cove Reservoir, the main drinking water source for Botetourt County and much of the Roanoke Valley. A Cardinal News analysis found that at the contracted 2 million gallons a day, Botetourt would be Google's eighth-largest campus in the world by water use.

Google has lost fights elsewhere. In Indianapolis, its attorney withdrew a rezoning petition for about 468 acres of Franklin Township farmland at a City-County Council hearing on September 22, 2025, after hundreds of opponents packed the room. "The equation is to mount a large opposition as soon as you can," said Meredith Sharp of Protect Franklin Township. In Chile, a court ruled in February 2024 that Google must revise its application for a $200 million data center in Cerrillos, Santiago, to account for climate change, after locals cited a proposed 7.6 million liters of potable water a day.

Where Google has won approval, opposition has sometimes continued after the vote. Sand Springs, a Tulsa suburb of about 20,000, rezoned 827 acres for Google's Project Spring on a 6-1 council vote in February 2026. Residents who said they were kept in the dark formed the Protect Sand Springs Alliance and petitioned to recall two council members, but the city clerk's office found too many of the more than 1,600 signatures were invalid, the Tulsa Flyer reported on May 1, 2026.

Every project above is drawn from public records, filings and local reporting. Each row links to what it is based on. Statuses change, so check the source date before you rely on one. Found something wrong? Write to [email protected] and it gets fixed.