Google LLC today announced plans to bolster its U.S. data center network with a new cloud facility in Nevada that is slated to come online next year.

The data center is being built in Henderson, a midsize city about 16 miles from Las Vegas. Henderson Mayor Debra March told local news station KLAS-TV that the project will entail a $600 million investment on Google’s part, the standard amount the search giant spends on new data centers.

The site will enable the search giant to better compete for cloud deals in the Las Vegas metropolitan area of 2 million people. The region is an epicenter of the $208 billion U.S. hospitality industry and several major players, such as Caesars Entertainment Corp., are already Google Cloud users. Having a data center nearby will enable customers to access the search giant’s services with lower latency.

The Henderson facility will be divided into three so-called availability zones. An availability zone is essentially a standalone data center section that is located just far enough from the others to prevent localized issues, such as a power outage, from cascading. That ensures that the site remains operational even if one wing goes offline. 

Google is setting up shop in Nevada as part of a $13 billion expansion plan it laid out in February. The company will also build data centers in Ohio, Nebraska and Texas, as well as expand its existing Oklahoma and South Carolina facilities.

The infrastructure investments are set to be accompanied by the creation of new offices. Google’s most ambitious development is a $1 billion campus currently under construction in Manhattan, which consists of three adjacent buildings with 1.7 million square feet of office space.

Google’s expansion roadmap also extends underwater. The company last week announced plans for a new subsea internet cable that will run from Lisbon, Portugal to Cape Town, South Africa with several branches along the way connecting to Africa’s west coast. 

Photo: Google