Reports: Google Data Center in Austria

There are numerous reports in Austrian media and blogs that Google is scouting locations for a data center in Austria, with Kronstorf reported as the potential site. The origin of the reports appears to be a Twitter message from Simon Kopf, an executive at a local technology company in Kronstorf, that Google has negotiated the purchase of 60 hectares of land (about 150 acres). The report was soon picked up by local media and a number of blogs.

I haven't been able to get very precise translations. But the latest reports indicate that local officials in Kronstorf have set aside land for economic development, and that a tenant has been lined up. One report refers to the Google rumor as "an open secret." One news outlet reached Google.de spokesperson Kay Oberbeck, who provided the standard "we need many data centers for our operations around the world, but don't comment about them for competitive reasons" response.

We're noting these reports because they are starting to multiply as Google-mania sets in among Austrian bloggers. The sourcing still seems plenty thin, but are plausible in that Google has been focusing on data center development in Europe recently with last year's announcement of a major project in Mons, Belgium.

A major caveat: we receive a number of reports that Google is building in a particular location, many of which turn out to be untrue (i.e. rumors about Greensburg, Kansas last year).