Google Papillion

Google · Papillion, Nebraska

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The resource footprint

Modelled average

In one day, this campus consumes about

3.7550-metre swimming pools

Filled with the volume of water consumed by the campus and its electricity supply.

The actual estimate2,476,436 US gallons consumed

50-metre pools · 2 metres deep

Each diagram = 1 pool. Partial shading shows the remainder.

At the campus1,501,918 galMaking its electricity974,518 gal

Power-plant water may come from a different watershed. This is a volume comparison, not a claim that households lose this water.

At current operating capacity · Annual model spread evenly over time, not a live meter. Site estimates may differ by roughly ±40%.

Comparison sizes & sources

One pool = 50 × 25 × 2 metres = 2.5 million litres (about 660,430 US gallons). Pool depths vary; this is a defined comparison size.

One home-year = 10,791 kWh, the EIA’s 2022 average US residential electricity purchases. This excludes electricity generated at home and is a fixed US benchmark for all sites.

One car-year = 4.6 tonnes CO₂, the EPA’s typical passenger vehicle tailpipe estimate. The campus model is in CO₂e; the comparison expresses approximate climate scale, not equal mixtures of pollutants.

Monthly values are annual totals ÷ 12; daily values are annual totals ÷ 365. Actual demand varies. Comparisons cover the whole campus, including non-AI uses.

Water: see the numbers and sources

This is water used up, mainly through evaporation. Power-generation water may be used in a different watershed.

Total water use904M gal/yr

Evaporated on site548M gal

Making the power356M gal

Household comparison11,299homes, at 80,000 gal/year

Pressure on local water: Not assessed — a regional measure of demand compared with available water
Where the water comes from: Supply type not yet verified
Cooling: Water-based cooling; cooling equipment analysed by Epoch AI
Basis: Fitted to a published figure of 548 million gallons a year (2025)
Operator table: Withdrew 678 million gallons, discharged 130, consumed 548
Claimed vs observed: Google 2026 Environmental Report, FY2025: consumed 548.2 million gallons. This is campus-wide water consumption, not water attributable solely to AI.

Air: see the numbers and sources

The totals include nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide and fine particles. They cover both this site and the power plants supplying it.

Nitrogen oxides385t/yr

Sulphur dioxide692t/yr

Fine particulates63.5t PM2.5

Health (EPA)$66.8M/yr

Health range: $23.5–66.8 million a year. Lower bound is EASIUR national mid-range; upper is EPA benefit-per-ton at a ~$12M VSL.
Statistical deaths: 5.57 a year at that VSL — a national-average conversion from tons, not a local concentration study.
Equals: 480,881 cars of NOx
Where it burns: SPP — Kansas / Oklahoma
Generation mix: Wind 45 · Gas 26 · Coal 22
Diesel backup: Generator inventory and operating hours have not been retrieved; no diesel testing term is included.
CO₂e: 625 kt/yr — climate, not air quality

The project, approvals and community concerns

Who asked for it: Google — self-build; Epoch AI identifies TPU v4, v5e and v5p at this campus
Who approved it: Google announced its Papillion campus in 2019. Omaha Public Power District serves the region; individual air permits have not been retrieved.
What it serves: Google TPU computing, including AI; the share of campus resource use attributable to AI is not disclosed
IT capacity: 237 MW current capacity / 237 MW full-build scenario
Capacity basis: This Google campus is separate from the Meta campus represented by sarpy. Google reported 548.2 million gallons consumed in Papillion in 2025. Its separate Omaha campus consumed 183.9 million gallons and is not included here. Epoch AI estimates 237 MW current and projected IT capacity; PUE 1.09 is a modelling assumption.

This Google campus is separate from the Meta campus represented by sarpy. Google reported 548.2 million gallons consumed in Papillion in 2025. Its separate Omaha campus consumed 183.9 million gallons and is not included here. Epoch AI estimates 237 MW current and projected IT capacity; PUE 1.09 is a modelling assumption.

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Quote or share these estimates

Gigawatt Ledger (2026). Google Papillion: water and air. https://gigawatt-ledger.pages.dev/site/papillion/. Modelled from disclosed capacity; site-level error ±40%.

Include the estimate’s date, whether it describes current or proposed capacity, and its uncertainty. Get an embeddable card.

Source documents

Gigawatt Ledger · September 2026. Water and air figures are estimated from public records and disclosed capacity. How we calculate them · Use this in your community.