MinneapoliMedia shines a Minnesota lens on federal activity…

A federal proposal intended to protect electricity customers from infrastructure costs created by large data centers is advancing as Minnesota communities debate the energy and water demands of proposed technology developments.

The U.S. House approved the Ratepayer Protection Act by a vote of 417 to 3. The legislation calls on state utility regulators to consider requiring large electricity users, including data centers, to bear the additional infrastructure costs created by their operations.

President Donald Trump said Friday that he was discussing the legislation with Senate Majority Leader John Thune.

The bill’s central principle is that households and existing businesses should not be required to subsidize new power plants, substations, transmission lines and other infrastructure built primarily to serve exceptionally large electricity customers.

The proposal is directly relevant to Minnesota, where communities including Pine Island and Hermantown have confronted questions about data center energy use, water demand, tax incentives and the extent of public participation before projects advance.

Utilities must often make major investments before a large data center begins operating. If a project is delayed, reduced or abandoned after infrastructure is built, other customers can be left carrying some of the resulting costs unless regulators and utility contracts provide adequate protections.

Supporters of stronger ratepayer safeguards argue that data center operators should provide financial guarantees, pay for dedicated infrastructure and accept electricity rates reflecting the actual cost of serving them.

Critics of the House legislation say its language may not be strong enough because it largely directs regulators to consider protective measures instead of imposing a uniform national requirement. An attempt to move the measure quickly through the Senate was blocked by Sen. Martin Heinrich, who argued that the proposal relied too heavily on voluntary action.

KTTC reports after yesterday’s Joint Planning Session Meeting..

A Fillmore County community is moving closer to finalizing local regulations for a potential data center.

Residents in Harmony got a look at the sixth draft of a proposed data center ordinance during a meeting Wednesday night. The review comes after city leaders examined resident feedback at their previous meeting and sent the language back to the city attorney for revisions.

Several key amendments were presented in the updated draft, including a mandate for a closed-loop cooling system and a requirement for an annual noise study to ensure facilities comply with Minnesota Pollution Control Agency standards.

The revised proposal would also cap water usage at 60,000 gallons per month for cooling systems unless granted special approval by the city. Additionally, the draft outright bans the use of non-disclosure agreements to ensure project details remain open to the public.

No formal council action was taken Wednesday as officials gathered further feedback from community members.

Next steps…

The draft ordinance will now head to the city’s planning and zoning committee during its meeting on Oct. 14 at 7 p.m., where a public hearing will be held.

If the committee approves the draft, the ordinance will go before the Harmony City Council for final consideration.

CNBC reports…

The House on Wednesday advanced by a vote of 417-3 a first-of-its-kind bill that aims to curb data center-related utility bill rate hikes, as backlash to the proliferating facilities grows ahead of the 2026 midterm election.

The bipartisan bill — dubbed the Ratepayer Protection Act — is the first of its kind to establish standards that state regulators could adopt to require artificial intelligence data centers with a demand of 100 megawatts or more to cover the costs of building new power sources, transmission lines and other infrastructure, rather than passing those costs down to consumers. The Senate has not yet taken action on the measure.

A trio of progressive Democrats — Reps. Summer Lee of Pennsylvania, Delia Ramirez of Illinois and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan — were the only members to oppose the bill.

“The principle is commonsense: Those creating the new demand should be responsible for the costs associated with meeting that demand,” the bill sponsor Rep. Gabe Evans, a Colorado Republican seeking reelection in one of the most tightly contested House seats this year, said in a Washington Reporter op-ed on Monday.

The Bemdji Pioneer reports…

The data center discussion has officially reached Bemidji City Hall, as the Bemidji Planning Board voted 6-1 for a one-year moratorium on data centers during its Monday meeting.

Given this vote, the motion will move forward to crafting the ordinance and hosting a public forum.

If passed by the city council, there would be no council action to approve data centers exceeding 10,000 square feet in size for one year. In lieu of this, a study would be completed to see how a data center would affect the local community.

The vote wasn’t unanimous..

The lone vote against the moratorium came from board member Mark Dickinson.

The City Council will vote…

The lone vote against the moratorium came from board member Mark Dickinson.

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.