Hometown Source Press & News reports…

The Albertville City Council reviewed a concept for a data center and approved a 7.49% preliminary tax levy increase for 2027 at a meeting on Sept. 8.

City Planner TJ Hofer presented the council with a concept for a data center from Nodiac Oakwood. A concept review allows for a city council to give feedback on an item without making a formal decision.

Hofer said Nodiac proposed to construct a modular data center at the intersection of 70th Street and Karment Avenue northeast, immediately adjacent to a Wright-Hennepin electrical substation. The data center would be located on a newly-created 3.66-acre parcel on a larger lot.

Hofer said that Nodiac’s data center would not be considered a “hyperscale” data center.

More details on the proposed building…

Nordic’s proposal included 20 “modular data center” modules, 10 electrical transformers, 30 concrete equipment pads for cooling units and other equipment, parking and security fencing.

The building would not be permanent, but “factory built enclosures on concrete pads or similar foundations,” per the narrative. Nodiac estimated that the site would operate for 30 years or more.

Hofer said Nodiac would not use municipal water or sewer and it would truck in its own water and propylene glycol mixture that had a five to eight year cycle. Nodiac would then truck the old water to a wastewater facility.

Nodiac believes 20 megawatts of energy will power the center, and did not detail the impact that would have to local electrical users. While dependent on usage and other factors, one megawatt generally can power 400-900 homes, according to a worksheet published by U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission via energy research group UtiliPoint.

Worth noting…

The City Council did not take any formal action on the concept review.

But…

The next Albertville City Council meeting is at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 21, at Albertville City Hall.

KSTP TV reports…

Taxpayers in Inver Grove Heights won’t have to foot the bill for a multi-million-dollar lawsuit but will likely still get the data center at the core of the issue, much to many residents’ chagrin.

On Monday night, the Inver Grove Heights City Council approved a change to its one-year data center moratorium that now excludes a company that sued the city because of it.

That company, Qlevr — which wants to build a 54,000-square-foot facility at the former Travel Tags building along Carmen Avenue East — says it was in the development process and in good standing with the city for its proposed data center project before that moratorium was passed, so it sued.

After Monday…

The city shared the following about the next steps:

• The City Council will consider the major site plan application at its Sept. 28 meeting;
• If the major site plan application is approved at that meeting, the developer would need to have an approved development contract with the City. That is a standard requirement for all developments in Inver Grove Heights;
• Once that is approved, the speed at which the project can move forward depends on how quickly the developer applies for and is issued a building permit from the City.

That major site plan application process has already been addressed, where the council set when generators can be used and sound testing done by the city.

KARE11 reports…

Less than a week after a data center developer from Virginia backed out of a plan to build one in Minneapolis’ North Loop neighborhood, other residents are preparing for any future proposals.

“I really hope to see a momentum established and committed to concrete action in ensuring the safety and livability of our community,” said Marshall Terrace Neighborhood Organization (MTNO) Greenspace & Ecology Coordinator Amy Pond.

Pond and MTNO Board Chair Lexi Clendenen hosted a data center discussion in the northeast part of the city Monday night for people to learn, ask questions and be part of a united community, according to a press release.

While I learned in an earlier post that the rules are not always the same for folks in and outside of the seven-county metro area, this still may be a topic that connects rural, urban and suburban communities. For folks in Minneapolis…

Some representatives of varying groups will likely be at the Minneapolis Planning Commission meeting on October 13. Public comment is expected as the city shapes new zoning ordinances for possible future data centers.

Earlier this year, the city council approved a temporary moratorium on data centers in most of the city to give councilors time to create these new standards. To learn more about their goals and next steps, click here.

CBS News TV reports…

The future of a property in Minneapolis’ North Loop is suddenly wide open. A data center developer is walking away from a deal to purchase the old Star Tribune printing facility. Ubah Ali heard reactions from residents in the neighborhood.

CCX Media reports...

The Plymouth City Council unanimously approved a moratorium on new data centers, which have come under increasing scrutiny in cities across the country.

The approval came at its Sept. 8 council meeting.

Grant Fernelius, the city’s community and economic development director, acknowledged a company recently contacted the city about building a data center of “fairly significant” size.

No official proposal has come forward, but the incident led city leaders to take action.

Plymouth’s moratorium will last one year and impacts data center proposals of at least 50,000 square feet.

The city council initially considered starting with at least 75,000 square feet, which is approximately the size of a Cub grocery store in Plymouth, but opted for the smaller building footprint.

The moratorium would not apply to existing businesses.

Iron Range’s Aaron Brown offers perspectives on data centers

The Star Tribune publishes a column from Iron Range journalist, Aaron Brown, on data centers. He talks about many aspects of the issue and gets to some conclusions…

Opposition to data centers contains nuances. Gallup shows that people generally see the economic benefits of data centers, and many of us have begun using AI — some begrudgingly, some with enthusiasm.

What if we right-sized the data center debate? What if we acknowledge the need for computing power without giving a blank check to companies who consume resources with reckless abandon?

Minnesota already has more than 73 enterprise data centers, mostly housed in government and corporate facilities. The controversy surrounds so-called hyperscale data centers of 10,000 square feet or more. Only one such facility, a 715,000-square foot campus in Rosemount, is currently under construction in this state. Several more, including Google proposals in Hermantown and Pine Island, are navigating the regulatory process and growing local opposition.

Brown offers a recommendation…

Building up existing infrastructure with sustainability in mind should be our public priority. We must establish goals for the public good, not just for those investing billions in the most expensive technology that most people still don’t want.

Y105FK out of Rochester reports…

According to Data Center Map, Minnesota already has 81 data centers operating or in the planning phase across the state. The majority of the data centers are in the Minneapolis Market. The next biggest market for Data Centers is Duluth, with 6.

Others (KADOA, Aterio and others) have done counts and Data Center Map count falls the same ballpark.

• Minneapolis – 63 Data Centers (Hennepin County
• Duluth – 6 Data Centers (St Louis County)
• St. Paul – 3 Data Centers (Ramsey County)
• St. Cloud – 1 Data Center (Stearns County)
• Braham – 1 Data Center (Isanti and Kanabec Counties)
• Rochester – 1 Data Center (Olmsted County)
• Bemidji – 1 Data Center (Beltrami County)
• Cambridge – 1 Data Center (Isanti County)
• Alexandria – 1 Data Center (Douglas County)
• Mankato – 1 Data Center (Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur Counties)
• Blue Earth – 1 Data Center (Faribault County
• Cannon Falls – 1 Data Center (Goodhue County)

KAAL TV reports…

A new poll is looking to answer the question of how much support there is in the Pine Island community for the data center project.

The person behind the poll, who shared the results with ABC 6 News, said it only counted people who have addresses within 55963 area code. It should also be noted that the author has publicly pushed back on the data center project.

Of the over 650 people who responded to the poll, just over 19% said they support the project while nearly 76% said they did not support it. 4.4% said they were not sure.

These numbers track with broader results, including a recent KSTP/SurveyUSA poll that found 60% of Minnesotans oppose data centers in their area, 27% are in favor, and the remainder were uncertain.

The article includes the full report.