Google Red Oak data center, Red Oak, Texas

Google's Red Oak data center sits on 166 acres where Farm-to-Market Road 664 meets State Highway 342 in Ellis County, south of Dallas. Google built it as a $600 million investment, Ellis County commissioners approved a 10 year tax abatement in 2018, and it employs about 30 people full time. It is operating, and an expansion announced in 2023 is under way.

The existing buildings are evaporative cooled, which means they consume water. The expansion will be closed loop air cooled instead, as will Google's new Texas sites in Haskell, Wilbarger and Armstrong counties. In 2026 the company published a Texas water stewardship plan: a $10 million Texas Water Impact Fund for communities where it builds, a commitment to replenish more water than it consumes at its sites by 2030, annual public reporting of water use, and work on reclaimed water. Google says it has put more than $500 million into water infrastructure in communities where it has data centers. Ben Townsend, its global head of infrastructure and sustainability, said the company wants to "walk the walk and talk the talk" on water.

Red Oak itself has been arguing about the industry, though not primarily about Google. The town's population more than doubled to 20,000 between 2018 and 2025, and there are now seven data center sites at various stages: two operating, one under construction and four in the pipeline, with projected investment of $13 billion. In May 2026 the city council voted 4 to 1 to rezone 830 acres of farmland for Compass Datacenters, which plans eight two storey buildings of 200,000 square feet each. More than 130 residents turned up at city hall meetings to object, raising noise, light pollution, the risk of water contamination, traffic and property values. Mayor Mark Stanfill defended the growth as deliberate, positioning Red Oak as a regional gateway and business hub.

Google, Compass and DataBank have each been granted 10 year tax breaks; the most recent abatement backed campus is a $9.45 billion investment expected to add $405 million to the tax base across the abatement period. Nine data centers are operating or planned in Ellis County.