Kehoe, Google tout $15 billion investment to accompany data center

HIGH HILL, Mo. (KMIZ)

Gov. Mike Kehoe and leaders from Google unveiled a data center project Wednesday that includes a $15 billion infrastructure investment from the tech giant.

Kehoe joined local officials and Google executives at the Laborers and Contractors Training Center in High Hill on Wednesday afternoon. Speakers touted the jobs the project will bring and sought to dismiss concerns about data centers' use of electricity and water resources.

"This data center will create thousands of construction jobs as it is being built and hundreds of full-time jobs once it is operational," said Ruth Porat, Alphabet and Google president and chief investment officer. Each of those hundreds of jobs will create nine others, she said.

Kehoe said the investment came with a commitment from Google to build up local infrastructure and expand energy affordability programs.

The announcement comes as construction is underway on an Amazon Web Services Data Center on Hudson Road near New Florence. The Google Data Center Campus is off Interstate 70 on Tree Farm Road.

Project Spade, a codename for the Google data center campus, obtained two permits under Kinetic Site Ventures LLC that were issued in February of this year.

The permits are for data center complexes, with additional permits expected as the project continues.

Check back for updates to this developing story.