02/24/2026
The Vernon, TX, Business Development Corporation, located within Wilbarger County, participated in this exciting project. MBG is conducting the executive search for the Executive Director of the Vernon Business Development Corporation.
Contact MBG for information regarding this exciting position.
Google Announces New Data Center and Energy Agreements with AES in
Wilbarger County, Texas
Air-cooled data center to eliminate operational water use, paired with new clean energy and generation
capacity through “power first” approach in collaboration with AES
VERNON, Texas, Feb. 24, 2026 — Today, Google announced it will expand its longstanding presence in
Texas with a new data center in Wilbarger County that will be co-located with clean power developed by
AES. With a focus on advancing water security and energy affordability, these investments will help meet
growing demand from Texans for Google's AI-powered services — such as Google Cloud, Workspace,
Search and Maps — that local people, businesses and public sector organizations use every day.
“We are thrilled to finally be able to welcome Google and AES to Wilbarger County,
” said Wilbarger
County Judge Greg Tyra.
“This project represents a major opportunity for our community to
participate in the expanding global digital economy. We have worked closely with the Google and AES
teams for the last couple of years to ensure this development would bring meaningful growth, economic
benefits, and stability to Wilbarger County for years to come, that might have otherwise passed us by.
”
Increasing Energy Abundance and Reliability
Google’s industry-leading energy efficiency, paired with its commitment to expand local energy supply
everywhere it operates, helps ensure the company's infrastructure growth bolsters the electricity grid's
long-term resilience. Google responsibly grows its infrastructure by bringing new energy resources and
generation to meet demand, and by funding energy affordability initiatives designed to drive down
monthly bills for local communities.
The Wilbarger County data center will be co-located with — or built in close proximity to — new clean
power plants developed and operated by AES. This innovative “power first” approach means the Google
data center will come online alongside its own clean power and generation capacity to meet its load,
reducing the need for new infrastructure and optimizing existing grid utilization. Co-location is a key
strategy for easing grid demands and complements Google’s efforts to rapidly unlock cost-effective
transmission buildout.
“We are proud of our long-standing partnership with Google and thrilled to bring them this advanced
stage ‘power first’ clean co-located project,
” said Kleber Costa, Chief Commercial Officer, AES US
Renewables.
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