Google is planning to build a data center in Daleville. But data centers use a lot of electricity, so Appalachian Power is rolling out a project to upgrade its transmission assets in the area.
The utility wants to replace 17 miles of 138 kilovolt transmission line with larger capacity conductor wire, improve four electrical substations, plus build a new substation and a tenth of a mile of new power line.
Appalachian Power spokesperson George Porter says Google is paying for the upgrades, but they'll benefit residents and companies in the region.
"We're hoping that by Google coming here and we're making these upgrades which Google is paying for this infrastructure, that'll be a snowball effect down which will entice other companies to come to the location and continue with the economic growth, which helps our region, brings jobs, and most importantly lowers the customer rates for everyone across the board," Porter says.
Appalachian Power is hosting a public meeting Wednesday night to answer questions about the project.
"’Will it be noisy?’ ‘Will there be construction on our road?’ ‘Will my road be blocked" Porter says. "Those are questions we're hoping we get on Wednesday to help answer those for those costumers because everyone's going to be impacted differently."
The open house meeting takes place at Read Mountain Middle School from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Google has suggested it will use renewables to power the data center, although Appalachian Power still relies largely on coal. Google officials compared the Botetourt County data center complex with its facility in Lenoir, North Carolina, which went online in 2007 and which is powered by a nearby Duke Energy solar farm.
Nationally, Google has procured more than 23 GW of carbon-free power to power its data centers. In Virginia, that includes power from the Rocky Forge wind farm in Botetourt County, which is under construction by Charlottesville's Apex Clean Energy.
Last week, Appalachian Power issued three requests for proposals that together total more than 1 GW of wind, solar, hydropower and geothermal resources.
