Google will use the existing transmission lines at a soon-to-close coal-fired plant in Alabama to power a $600-million data center using renewable energy, in a deal with the Tennessee Valley Authority announced on June 24.
TVA said it still is working through details of the agreement, such as the amount and sources of power, but the idea of repurposing the Widows Creek plant to power the data center was attractive to Google, said Gary Demasi, its director of data-center energy and location strategy.