By Desiree Mathurin
Publication Date: 2026-03-13 17:06:00
With a $1 billion investment, Google is planning to expand its data center operations in Caldwell County.
The tech giant announced the additional investment in its Lenoir data center Friday. Lenoir is near Hickory and about 75 miles northwest of Charlotte.
With the investment, Google intends to grow its campus and potentially hire more employees, according to a news release from the tech company. Currently, 400 people work at the center.
North Carolina, including the Charlotte region, is becoming a hot bed for data center expansion amid a massive surge in demand fueled by AI usage. But there’s also been a rise of opposition by residents concerned about their energy usage and other issues.
