- The Winschoten facility strengthens Google’s Cloud region in the Netherlands and supports services like Workspace, Search and Maps.
- Designed with sustainability in mind: it features solar panels, advanced air‑cooling, and the capability to reuse waste heat in future district heating networks.
What happened: Google unveils AI data centre in Winschoten to boost Dutch digital economy
Google has inaugurated a new data centre in Winschoten, in the province of Groningen in the Netherlands, to bolster the capacity needed for its expanding AI‑driven services such as Google Cloud, Workspace, Search and Maps. The site is part of its broader Google Cloud region in the Netherlands, which sits within the company’s global network of 42 regions.
Construction of the site began in December 2023, backed by an investment of around €600 million. Google employs approximately 700 people across its Dutch data-centre operations, including at Winschoten.
In keeping with its sustainability goals, the Winschoten centre can recover waste heat for future use in a local district-heating network. The building also has rooftop solar panels and uses advanced air-cooling technology to minimise water usage. Google has already supported more than 1 GW of renewable energy generation capacity in the Netherlands, including a notable power purchase agreement with Shell tied to an offshore wind farm.
Beyond the core data-centre operations, Google is partnering with the municipality of Oldambt, WerkPro, Afeer, and Cosis to build a Circular Centre opposite the facility. The 196 m², two-storey modular building is designed to sort, repair, and reuse electrical goods, providing local jobs and practical circular-economy education to students. Since 2018, Google has contributed over €2.5 million to more than 80 community initiatives in the Netherlands, spanning education and digital skills.
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Why it’s important
The Winschoten data centre is not just about raw computing power — it represents a strategic bet on Europe’s AI economy. An Implement Consulting study, commissioned by Google, projects that generative AI alone could add €80–85 billion to the Netherlands’ GDP over the next decade, a near 9% uplift. Another study estimates that public-sector adoption of generative AI in administrative processes could unlock €6 billion in value.
Google’s long-term investment in Dutch infrastructure has also had a measurable macroeconomic effect: according to Deloitte, its data-centre projects have contributed on average €1.96 billion per year to the Netherlands’ GDP between 2022 and 2024, while supporting about 12,600 jobs annually.
Sustainability is deeply embedded in the Winschoten centre’s design, aligning with Google’s ambition to run on 24/7 carbon-free energy. The ability to feed waste heat back into a district-heating network presents a tangible example of how digital infrastructure can support local decarbonisation.
Moreover, the Circular Centre initiative underlines Google’s commitment to social as well as environmental sustainability. By fostering repair, reuse and education, the company is embedding itself as a community partner, not merely a tech giant.
