The internet giant has been exploring the construction of a pair of data centres in the grand duchy since July 2017. Plans are still being studied, Google said during a briefing on Thursday, per Paperjam and RTL.

Investment on the 33.7 hectare site in Bissen would be €1.2bn, Google stated. Work could theoretically begin in 2021 and finish in 2023 or 2024. After completion, the facility would employ roughly 100 staff.

Two open questions are electricity and water consumption. It is estimated that the Google data centres would use initially use about 7% of Luxembourg’s current power supply; later it would take 12% of present capacity. The firm’s Fabien Vieau said it would install 10,000 solar panels at the site.

The tech giant also needs to study how much water it can pump from the nearby Alzette river to use for cooling the data centre’s servers.

A public hearing on the application for a special development plan (building authorisation from the local council) will be held later this month.