Summary
- Consultation runs from 2 November 2026 until 10 January 2027.
- The first building would receive a 120MW connection at 225kV, followed by proposed 400kV infrastructure for later phases.
- The campus could ultimately contain six to eight computing buildings developed over 10–20 years.
Public consultation has opened on Google‘s proposed data centre campus at Ozans, near Châteauroux in central France, together with the transmission infrastructure required to supply the development.
The consultation, which began on 2 November and runs until 10 January 2027, covers a phased project that could eventually contain six to eight computing buildings. French transmission operator RTE is responsible for the associated grid connection proposals.
The first phase envisages a building around 2030, supplied through a dedicated 225kV connection providing 120MW. Later development would require 400kV infrastructure, initially providing a further 300MW connection, with provision for eventual expansion to 1,200MW at that voltage.
These figures describe proposed electricity connection capacity rather than installed IT load. The amount of computing equipment ultimately supported will depend on the buildings completed, electrical distribution arrangements, mechanical systems, and capacity made available through the transmission network.
The campus would occupy land within the Ozans development zone at Étrechet in the Indre department. Google proposes developing the site over approximately 10–20 years, with successive construction phases responding to its infrastructure requirements.
RTE’s first connection phase involves a new 225kV public substation within the development zone. Two underground electrical links, each approximately 300 metres long, would connect this infrastructure to Google’s private substation, providing redundant supply arrangements for the initial building.
The later 400kV phase would involve another substation and two overhead transmission lines extending approximately 10km between the network connection point and the computing campus. These works would form a separate substantial infrastructure project, even though they are being considered alongside the proposed buildings.
The distinction between initial and long-term connections is central to the development timetable. A facility may be designed for considerable future expansion without possessing the network infrastructure required to operate at that scale.
Obtaining planning permission, constructing electrical infrastructure, commissioning equipment, and receiving permission to energise a connection are separate steps. The proposed 2030 first-building timetable remains subject to those processes.
Consultation covers the campus and electricity network
The consultation is taking place under the supervision of the French National Commission for Public Debate, with three independent guarantors overseeing the public participation process.
Google and RTE are presenting the computing campus and electrical connection as an interdependent project. The facility would require dedicated transmission infrastructure to operate, while the associated network construction would be undertaken to serve the proposed computing demand.
Public participation therefore extends beyond the buildings themselves. The location of electrical substations, the routes of overhead and underground lines, land use, environmental impacts, and the construction programme are all relevant to the assessment.
Google has also asked RTE to examine whether existing 225kV overhead lines within the development zone could be placed underground to accommodate the site layout. That option remains subject to technical feasibility and further assessment.
The consultation programme includes a public meeting in Châteauroux on 9 November and further opportunities to examine the proposals and submit contributions.
Large data-centre developments increasingly require connections to high-voltage transmission systems rather than conventional local distribution infrastructure. Such connections involve transformers, protection systems, substations, transmission routes, and engineering work that can determine when individual buildings become usable.
At Ozans, the proposed 225kV connection would serve the initial computing building, while the 400kV programme is intended to support future expansion. The latter depends partly on the wider development of the Éguzon–Marmagne transmission infrastructure.
Any later increase in power demand would also affect the supporting cooling and electrical systems within the campus. The design and operation of those installations would have to be considered alongside the environmental and permitting requirements applying to each development phase.
The consultation process allows those dependencies to be examined before final decisions are taken. Contributions will inform the subsequent development and approval stages, rather than constituting a vote that directly grants or refuses construction permission.
The campus remains a proposal, with no completed computing buildings or energised connections established by the consultation. The immediate milestone is the examination of its scale, location, and electricity infrastructure ahead of the next permitting stages.
