A billion-dollar deal made in secret. A lawsuit that forced the truth out. And a community deciding what happens next.
June 2025
Google buys 312 acres. The deal is done.
After 18 months of secret negotiations, Google publicly purchased 312 acres in Botetourt County's Greenfield industrial park — through a shell company called Helio Capital LLC. The county celebrated it as the largest industrial announcement in its history. What wasn't disclosed: the full scope of what was planned, or how much water it would require.
A draft agreement leaked to Cardinal News revealed the water authority had agreed to supply up to 8 million gallons of water per day to the site. The region's current largest water customer, the Coca-Cola bottling plant, uses 260,000 gallons per day. At peak capacity, that's 30 times more.
The Southwest Virginia Data Center Transparency Alliance formed in the fall, driven by concerns about water and electricity impacts. Residents rallied outside the water authority's offices. In early 2026, about 50 residents attended a public Q&A — one of the first official forums on a project already months in motion.
Records requested. Records redacted. Rambler sues.
The water authority repeatedly redacted water usage figures from public records at Google's request, claiming they were proprietary. On October 9, Rambler founder Henri Gendreau filed suit. On November 5, Judge Leisa Ciaffone ruled in his favor: water usage is public information. Google doesn't own it.
The full scope: three data centers. One million square feet.
Permit applications revealed the real scale of the project: three hyperscale data centers, each roughly 307,000 square feet, plus three electrical substations and an office building. Total investment: at least $3 billion. Google chose this site over other Roanoke Valley locations because of its cheap land, available electricity, adjacent fiber, and water access.
Facing contempt of court, the contracts are released.
After two failed attempts to appeal, the water authority finally released the full executed contracts — about a week before a contempt hearing scheduled for March 3rd. The numbers confirmed what had been leaked: 2 million gallons per day to start, up to 8 million with expansion. Local governments had earmarked up to $300 million for a new regional water source.
Legal
March 10, 2026
The federal government opens the door.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers published a public notice for Project Raspberry, opening a comment period on the federal permit required to affect wetlands and waterways on the site. The project would permanently impact 3.24 acres of wetlands, 6,715 feet of streams, and habitat for two threatened species: the federally endangered Indiana Bat and the Roanoke logperch, both potentially present within two miles of the site.
The public comment deadline is April 9, 2026. The Army Corps must hear from the public before making any decision on this permit. They can approve it, modify it, require environmental protections, or deny it entirely. Comments from anywhere in the country count. This is the moment to be heard.