Google plans $1.2bn Nevada data center expansion

Google plans to expand its recently opened Las Vegas cloud region with another $600m data center on its Southern Nevada campus, and a new $600m site in Tahoe Reno.

The local government signed off on more than $25m in tax incentives for the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center in Northern Nevada.

Betting on Nevada
The incentives include a sales tax abatement of two percent worth $16.8m and a personal property tax abatement of 75 percent for 20 years, worth $8.25m. Google also received a similar $25.2m tax break for its first Henderson project.

“This is a very good deal for Nevada,” said Michael Brown, Governor’s Office of Economic Development executive director. “In return for the $25 million abatement that Google will receive, the company will make a $427 million impact on the economy over 20 years and generate $94 million in tax revenue over 20 years.”

The data centers are each expected to employ some 2,500 temporary construction jobs, and 50 full time roles.

“It’s no secret that I’ve had reservations over some of our abatement programs,” Governor Steve Sisolak told the Reno Gazette Journal. “It’s also no secret that the current state of our economy has put us once again as the state most affected by this crisis.” The GOED estimates that it has approved more than $2.1 billion in abatements since 2014, in return for what it claims is more than $5.3 billion worth of net new taxes.

In December, the board will meet to discuss making abatement criteria a little more ambitious, such as increasing the wage promised to workers and the upping the percentage of employees that must be state residents. DCD