This summer, Botetourt County announced Google had purchased the parcel at the industrial park for about $14.06 million and had pledged to give $4 million over the next five years to support community projects in Botetourt, which encompasses Roanoke suburbs and rural farmland.

"It's coming. It's coming in stages and as I mentioned, it'll be building for the next 10 years," Village President Dave DeGroot said.

Some space industry leaders — including Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos — believe the answer could be in orbit, via space-based data centers. That idea has gained attention in recent weeks. Musk is reportedly considering a merger between SpaceX and his generative artificial AI company xAI ahead of his space firm’s planned IPO later this year.

As demand for computing power soars nationwide, a Southern California entrepreneur with past legal troubles is trying to speed forward an immense data center in Imperial County.

A potential $1 billion agreement would bring AMD to Rockdale, transforming part of a former Alcoa site into a major Texas data hub.