Google is set to develop a data center campus in Stillwater, Payne County, Oklahoma.
The City of Stillwater revealed that the company was behind an application for an "AI data center campus" in the city on March 12.
The state's 10th largest city, Stillwater is in north-central Oklahoma.
The campus will be located on 400 acres of land north of the former Armstrong facility at the intersection of Perkins and Richmond Roads, and according to previous reports, it could see as much as $3 billion in investment.
Murmurings of the project have been ongoing for more than six months, with the possibility of a six-building campus first being shared in July 2024. At the time, no end user was shared, with the applicant later described as a “leading company specializing in artificial intelligence and data processing,” acting through a subsidiary entity, Kipper LLC."
A draft economic development plan from August 2024 suggests that the data centers will span 300,000 square feet (28,870 sqm) each, with a data center per phase of construction.
“Google choosing Stillwater is a testament to the strength of our economy, our workforce, and our commitment to community investment,” Mayor Will Joyce said. “This project is a tremendous collaborative effort among the City, our economic development partners at the Stillwater Chamber of Commerce, and several local stakeholders. Together, we look forward to welcoming Google to the Stillwater community.”
No construction date or timeline has yet been shared.
Under a tax incentive agreement, Google will not pay property taxes initially but will make direct payments in lieu to the city. According to a report from Kosu, the first phase of the plan will see Stillwater receive almost $900,000 for its public schools, Meridian Technology Center, Payne County government, and the health department.
Elsewhere in Oklahoma, Google operates a data center campus to the east of Tulsa in Pryor, Mayes County. Announced in 2007, it launched a facility there back in 2011 and has expanded at regular intervals since.
Oklahoma, in general, does not have a huge data center market, but this seems to be changing. According to Governor Kevin Stitt, the state is drawing interest from data center developers due to its "affordable and reliable grid." A report from KOCO quotes Stitt adding the importance of also getting large data center companies to bring power with them.
“Getting ‘Behind the Meter’ done is so important, to make sure to continue to have excess energy generation in Oklahoma, it’s going to be a differentiator between us and these data centers and AI centers and manufacturing coming to Oklahoma, or going to other states,” Stitt said.
Recent companies announcing data center projects in Oklahoma include Cerebras, Damac, and CoreWeave with Core Scientific.
