Google and Intersect announce Meitner Energy Center in Texas, pairing a new data center with clean power

Google said on June 4, 2026 that it and Intersect will begin building the Meitner Energy Center in Gray and Roberts Counties, Texas, a project that couples a new data center with new electricity generation and storage. The announcement positions the facility as part of Google’s broader approach to expanding data center capacity while trying to manage the local impacts that come with higher electricity and water demand.

In Google’s description, “co-location” means the data center will come online alongside dedicated energy infrastructure designed to meet the facility’s demand without relying as heavily on new power supply added to the regional grid. Google said the site will pair its data center with more than a gigawatt of wind, solar, and battery storage systems, with most of the power coming from clean energy starting on Day One. A minority share of demand, according to the company, will be met by “firming” on-site gas intended to help ensure reliable operations.

Google said the planned data center will use air cooling, a technology choice the company says is meant to limit water consumption. Once complete, Google’s Gray County facility is expected to use advanced air-cooling technology, with water usage capped to small-scale domestic needs such as restrooms. The company also stated it aims to replenish more freshwater than it consumes beyond its direct operations.

Alongside the facility design, Google said it is establishing a $10 million Texas Water Impact Fund intended to support community water infrastructure and access, including local projects such as replacing leaking water pipelines. The company said the fund builds on collaborations with groups including Texan by Nature and Texas Water Trade, which it described as efforts aimed at improving watershed health across the state.

Intersect, which Google said has been active in Gray and Roberts Counties since 2022, also highlighted local community support in the announcement. Intersect pointed to involvement with the Pampa Independent School District’s Career and Technical Education program, the Well STEAM and Literacy Center, and the Texas 4-H Foundation, describing those efforts as part of its longer-term engagement in the region.

For employment, Google said it expects “thousands of jobs” to be supported by the project. The company added a rule-of-thumb it often uses in its data center announcements, stating that for every one job inside a Google data center in the United States, nine additional jobs are created directly in the local community across categories such as maintenance, security, landscaping, HVAC repair, electrical work, and construction trades.

To address construction staffing needs, Google said it is establishing the Caprock Workforce Hub, an 800-acre residential facility in nearby Wheeler County designed to accommodate up to 3,500 workers. The hub is described as managed and aimed at minimizing traffic and strain on local infrastructure through self-sufficient utilities and dedicated transportation, with amenities intended for worker well-being and safety.

The Meitner Energy Center plan also ties back to a prior, joint Google and Intersect effort. Google said the partners announced their first joint site in November 2025, which includes Intersect’s Quantum Clean Energy Project, a 640 MW solar and 1.3 GWh storage facility co-located with a Google data center in Haskell County. Google added that Quantum is expected to begin operations “this month,” and it said Google’s acquisition of Intersect closed in March 2026.

What remains unclear from the June 4 announcement is the project’s scope in terms of compute capacity, including the data center’s planned IT load or megawatt target, as well as the total investment size and the schedule for major milestones such as initial commissioning and full completion. Google also did not specify details on the firming fuel mix beyond describing a minority share met by on-site gas, nor did it provide permitting or environmental review timelines in the posted materials. Investors and local stakeholders will likely look to future filings, permitting documents, and construction updates for those specifics.