Amazon’s cloud services division on Friday said it plans to invest $35 billion (roughly Rs. 2,83,400 crores) by 2040 to expand data centers in Virginia.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) said the new investment would create 1,000 jobs. Virginia Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin said AWS would set up multiple data center campuses across Virginia.
In 2021, AWS said that from 2011 to 2020 it had invested $35 billion (roughly Rs. 2,83,400 crores) in data centers located in Northern Virginia and had 3,500 full-time employees in its data centers in the state.
Pending approval by state lawmakers, Virginia is developing a new “mega data center incentive program” that would allow the company 15-year extensions of data center sales and access tax exemptions on equipment and software.
AWS will also be eligible to receive state grants of up to $140 million (roughly Rs. 1133 crores) “for site and infrastructure improvements, workforce development, and other project-related costs”.
Amazon Shares closed up 3.8 percent on Friday.
Amazon built its second headquarters, known as “HQ2”, in northern Virginia after a lengthy competition announcement in 2018 and will eventually employ more than 25,000 workers. As of April, Amazon said the headcount assigned to the site was approximately 5,000.
Yangqin has faced some criticism for withdrawing from competition to attract a new Ford Motor battery plant expected to be built alongside China’s contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL), the world’s largest battery producer.
Youngkin defended his decision on Friday, telling Bloomberg News that he “looks forward to bringing a great company there. It will not be one that uses a kind of Trojan-horse relationship with the Chinese Communist Party for profit.” Ho.”
A spokesman for Yangqin has stated that “while Ford is a reputable American company, it became clear that this proposal would serve as a front for the Chinese Communist Party.”
Ford declined to comment on Youngkin’s decision to withdraw.
In July, Ford said it plans to localize 40 GWh of battery capacity in North America by 2026. It also announced that CATL would provide battery packs for the Mustang Mach-E model for North America through 2023 and discussed collaboration for batteries in Ford vehicles. Worldwide.
“Our talks with CATL are ongoing – and we have nothing new to announce on either front,” Ford said.
Michigan is also a candidate for the Ford battery plant, the sources said, and a decision could be made in the coming weeks.
© Thomson Reuters 2023