Google Sets January Opening in South Carolina

Google has added a section on its web site about its new data center in Berkeley County, South Carolina. The company says the $600 million facility is scheduled to open in January 2008 and provides information about how to apply for the 200 jobs being created to staff the facility. Google is looking for a data center facilities manager, data center technicians, Linux system administrators and a director of server operations. It also provides instructions for contractors and vendors interested in working with Google.

UPDATE: Google has provided an update on the timeline, which was apparently misinterpreted in preparing the new section of the site. "Limited testing of the facility should begin in Q1 2008 and the center should be fully operational sometime in the second half of 2008," according to the updated text.

The facility will be on a 520-acre site at the Mount Holly Commerce Park, which is located north of Charleston near Goose Creek. Google recently bought a 466-acre parcel of land near Blythewood, South Carolina that is being considered as a site for a second huge data center in the state. The company said it is evaluating the Blythewood site, but is not going to decide whether to build there until 2008.