Google Buys More Land in Europe for Data Center Construction

Natalia Drozdiak and Ellen Proper (Bloomberg) -- Alphabet Inc.’s Google bought 70 hectares (173 acres) of land in the Netherlands, as it explores options for building more data centers across Europe.

The company said it’s still considering whether to build on the site in Noord-Holland, but that a decision will be made soon.

"We want to ensure that we have options to continue to expand our data center presence in Europe if our business demands it," Google spokesman Mark Jansen said Thursday.

Google already owns a data center in the town of Eemshaven in the Netherlands, and announced earlier this year it would invest 500 million euros ($582.2 million) to expand it. The search giant also recently bought plots of land in Denmark, Luxembourg and Sweden, and in February said it would invest further in its Belgian site.

A number of companies are benefiting from Europe’s data center growth. France’s Schneider Electric SE has said it’s getting a boost from an increase in orders for equipment to run them, and Norway wants its abundant hydro power to act as a lure for tech companies to build there.

Not every location in Europe has seen success however: Apple Inc. recently shelved a plan to build a $1 billion data center in the west of Ireland.