Google’s India AI hub cleared for 2.51GW, not 1GW, the Guardian reports

Google’s $15bn AI datacentre project in Andhra Pradesh has state environmental clearance for 2.51GW of capacity, more than double the 1GW announced, according to clearance papers seen by the Guardian.

Hannah Ellis-Petersen and Aakash Hassan reported the story from Tarluvada, one of the villages where the project is being built. The Guardian said 2.51GW is roughly the output of two large nuclear reactors, and more than 30% of the state’s current yearly power use.

Google announced the Visakhapatnam AI hub in October 2025, with partners AdaniConneX and Airtel. In its reply to the Guardian, Google called it a gigawatt-scale hub, comparable to other projects.

The state gave the green light in nine days, with no public hearing, the Guardian reported. The Human Rights Forum has since filed three petitions at India’s National Green Tribunal, and a separate case is before the Andhra Pradesh High Court.

The project covers three sites around Visakhapatnam. One is a few metres from a reserve forest, a drinking water reservoir and a wildlife sanctuary.

In Tarluvada, 520 families recently had land taken back that the government had given them about 20 years ago, according to the Guardian. Villagers said security guards working for the Adani Group put up fences in April and blocked them from plots they had farmed for years.

Some of the 47 Dalit farmers who were paid for their land said they have not yet got the new plots and jobs they were promised. One farmer, P Venkat Rao, said he received $40,000 for his only acre but now has no livelihood.

“I am a farmer, without my land I am nothing,” Rao told the Guardian.

The state government said no land was taken by force and that those who qualified were paid well. The Adani Group said all legal approvals were in place.

Google said the site will be cooled by air, not water, so it will not affect local drinking water. It also said it expects no impact on the local community and will create thousands of jobs around Visakhapatnam.

Meanwhile, the state’s tax breaks and cheap land, power and water for Google are estimated to be worth 220bn rupees ($2.2bn) over 20 years, the Guardian reported.

The dispute mirrors datacentre protests in the US and elsewhere. The tribunal petitions have not yet been decided.

Story by Alina Maria Stan

Alina Maria Stan builds connections that people actually feel. As co-founder and COO of Tekpon, she turns product intuition into real moment (show all) Alina Maria Stan builds connections that people actually feel. As co-founder and COO of Tekpon, she turns product intuition into real moments of discovery, shaping how teams find and adopt SaaS every day. Since 2020, she has led Tekpon’s brand voice, media strategy, and growth plays with a clear focus on human outcomes behind every metric. Before Tekpon, Alina followed curiosity across industries and countries. She was CEO of King Casino Bonus and led affiliate and brand strategy at Extremoo Media and Fable Media in Denmark, where she learned how to build partnerships that last. Early on, she sharpened her CRM and pricing instincts at K.H. ApS, always asking why customers choose what they choose. Her approach is rooted in more than a decade of international experience and two master’s degrees, one in Sustainable Consumption from the Technical University of Munich and one in Consumer Affairs Management from Aarhus University.