Google on Wednesday announced it will invest $15 billion in a data center development in Missouri’s Montgomery County. “Today, we announced a historic $15 BILLION investment in Missouri from @Google. This project is about more than infrastructure in Montgomery County—it’s about connectivity. Connecting communities to opportunity, workers to good-paying jobs, and Missouri to the future economy,” Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe said. Today, we announced a historic $15 BILLION investment in Missouri from @Google. This project is about more than infrastructure in Montgomery County—it's about connectivity. Connecting communities to opportunity, workers to good-paying jobs, and Missouri to the future economy. pic.twitter.com/9g5HaWyXhO — Governor Mike Kehoe (@GovMikeKehoe) May 20, 2026 KSDK shared further: The development will be located about one hour west of St. Louis on more than 900 acres near the Interstate 70 and Highway 19 interchange, next to a site where Amazon previously committed to building a $35 billion data center. Wednesday’s announcement didn’t include specific details about the development itself, though materials published by Montgomery County describe a multi-building data center campus designed with closed-loop, non-evaporative air cooling technology intended to limit water use and reduce environmental impact. Data centers, locally and nationwide, have faced pushback from local communities, with water and electricity concerns being a common refrain. The St. Charles City Council on Tuesday, for example, voted to ban data center development there. “Google’s historic investment in Montgomery County is a testament to Missouri’s growing reputation as a premier destination for innovation and next-generation technology,” Kehoe said. “Beyond the significant economic impact and job creation, Google has demonstrated a true commitment to strengthening the community through local partnerships, investments, grants, and support for area businesses. This project represents more than infrastructure – it’s an investment in Missouri families, communities, and long-term opportunity. We are proud to partner with companies like Google that are helping drive economic growth while making a meaningful difference in the communities they call home,” he continued. “We look forward to expanding Google’s investments in Missouri and helping Missourians benefit from the next wave of American innovation,” said Ruth Porat, President and Chief Investment Officer of Alphabet and Google. “To deliver the upside of technology, we are investing in workforce development and energy affordability, both directly and through our partnerships with local organizations. This commitment will provide thousands of Missourians with valuable technical and trade skills, while supporting energy affordability for residents in Montgomery County and across the state,” Porat added. Google said the project will create “thousands of construction jobs and hundreds of permanent jobs,” according to a KCTV5 report. “It won’t hurt the water supply as it will be built with air cooling technology. The company’s going to spend $20 million to drive down energy bills for residents,” the report continued. Watch below: Google announces a $15B data center in Mid-Missouri, creating thousands of construction jobs & hundreds of permanent jobs: "It won't hurt the water supply as it will be built with air cooling technology. [Google's] going to spend $20M to drive down energy bills for residents." pic.twitter.com/y27XKd8uXk — Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 21, 2026 KOMU 8 has more: This comes amid intense concerns from community members over an additional Amazon Web Services data center in the county. Montgomery County commissioners approved tax abatements for that project in December 2025. Town halls that same month drew large crowds of residents opposed to the project. In February, a community group filed a lawsuit accusing commissioners of violating the Missouri Sunshine Law by not providing enough advanced notice of meetings regarding the data center projects, not giving specifics of how much water the Amazon data center would use and not disclosing what happened in multiple closed-door meetings. The lawsuit seeks to halt the project until this information is made available. The next scheduled action in the lawsuit is a hearing on June 1. For the Google data center announced Wednesday, Kehoe’s release said every direct job at the center will create nine more jobs in the community. It also said Google will collaborate with the Construction Laborers and Contractors Joint Training Fund of Eastern Missouri to “support training for more than 2,300 construction workers over the next two years.”