The project was formally announced in June 2015.

Google is constructing the data center on 360 acres adjacent to the old Widows Creek coal-fired power plant, which was decommissioned in 2015 by the Tennessee Valley Authority after decades of operation.

Google's data center in Jackson County will become Alabama's first large-scale data center. Once finished, the center is expected to employ between 75 and 100 people in Jackson County.

"Data centers like this are the engines of the Internet and deliver key tools and resources to our users, including search results, YouTube videos, Gmail and other apps and data links all around the world", Standridge said.

Google announced in February that it was opening or expanding offices and data centers in 14 US states.

"Our mission at Google has always been to make the world's information universally accessible", said Brenda Standridge, Hardware Operations Manager and Site Lead. "It's great to see companies like Google recognize what we in the Tennessee Valley have known all along - that we have a tremendous pool of talent in northern Alabama and that this is a wonderful place to live and work". Schools $100,000 to boost their stem programs. "This particular project has so much meaning not only for Jackson County but also for the state of Alabama", said Greg Canfield, secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce. "We are thankful for their ongoing support of our children's futures and are thrilled that they will now call this area home".

Governor Ivey highlights Alabama's business-friendly policies as a strong draw for the corporation.

"Billions of people use Google to search for something and I'm sure glad that when Google started searching they found us in Alabama", Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said during Monday's ceremony.

"We believe that Google should not be in the business of war", the letter reads. Everyday billions of people use Google to search for something.

"What is really going to be more important is the future of Google in Alabama, because we hope this is just the beginning". Today, it is purchasing a significant amount of solar power for its Georgia cloud facility, while also breaking ground on a new site in Alabama.

Google has an option for more of the abandoned Widows Creek plant, which TVA is continuing to disassemble and clean up. Google has not directly offered a comment on its appeal.

Today was the groundbreaking for the $600 million Google Data Center that's being built in Jackson county. We are trying to work with everybody.

The company plans to hire as many as 100 technical people, but construction of the $600 million project will have an immediate impact on the community. Google's data centers are 50 percent more energy efficient than the industry standard.

Crews have already begun construction, and Bridgeport Mayor David Hughes says the town is already seeing an economic boom.

"Bridgeport is just the flawless balance of land, power, water and a great community for the workforce", said Brenda Standridge, Google's Alabama project manager. Google is a generous supporter of schools, and the company's presence will help us recruit other high-tech companies.