Data centers in Minnesota

12 data centers and projects on our map in Minnesota, including 5 projects we track in detail. Each one links to its source. Below: where they are by county, the projects in the news, and the latest reporting from both sides.

7existing and up and running 0under construction 2proposed 3blocked, paused or withdrawn

See Minnesota on the map. Existing facilities come from OpenStreetMap, a community-maintained public map that is incomplete; proposed, under construction and blocked projects are tracked one by one from news, filings and official records.

Projects in the news

Blocked, paused or withdrawn Plat, site plan and conditional use permit denied by city council, March 2026

Apple Valley Technology Park

Apple Valley, Dakota County · Operator: Oppidan Investment Company and Rockport LLC

A proposal for five data center buildings totaling about 1.05 million square feet on 134 acres of an active gravel mining site south of Minneapolis. The council denied the applications, citing conflicts with the comprehensive plan and the cost of the water treatment and storage expansion the project would require.

Issues raised: water, zoning, opposition, power

Source: Data Center Dynamics, 2026-03 · On the map

Blocked, paused or withdrawn 12 month moratorium adopted 2026-09-21, extendable by another year

North Mankato Data Center Moratorium

North Mankato, Nicollet County

announced 2026-09-21

The North Mankato City Council unanimously adopted a 12 month moratorium on new data centers and directed staff to study large scale facility regulation. The ordinance defines large scale data centers as those exceeding 250,000 square feet or using 50,000 gallons of water per day or more.

Issues raised: water, opposition, zoning

Source: KEYC, 2026-09-22 · On the map

Blocked, paused or withdrawn One year moratorium adopted Sept. 23, 2026

Woodbury Data Center Moratorium

Woodbury, Washington County

announced 2026-09-23

Woodbury paused new data center permits, rezoning and conditional use approvals for up to one year while staff studies water, power and noise. The city said no data center proposals are pending.

Issues raised: water, power, noise, zoning

Source: Woodbury News Net, 2026-09-24 · On the map

Proposed Planned, contested locally, no state oversight law passed

Farmington Hyperscale Data Center

Farmington, Dakota County

A planned hyperscale data center in Farmington that helped spark a residents coalition and became a statewide political issue in 2026. Several nearby suburbs adopted moratoriums after the legislature adjourned without new data center rules.

Issues raised: power, water, zoning, opposition, tax-incentives

Source: MinnPost, 2026-06 · On the map

Proposed Construction paused pending environmental review lawsuit; local opposition candidates on Nov ballot

Google Pine Island Data Center

Pine Island, Goodhue County · Operator: Google

Google's proposed data center on about 88 acres in Pine Island, with potential expansion to more than 400 acres, has drawn a slate of first-time candidates running on opposition to the project. A judge has halted construction pending resolution of an environmental review lawsuit.

Issues raised: opposition, power, water, jobs, local-revenue

Source: MPR News, 2026-09-17 · On the map

By county

Dakota County 2 on the map
Farmington Hyperscale Data Center, Apple Valley Technology Park
Goodhue County 1 on the map
Google Pine Island Data Center
Nicollet County 1 on the map
North Mankato Data Center Moratorium
Washington County 1 on the map
Woodbury Data Center Moratorium

Latest news from Minnesota

Cited by both sides local October 8, 2026

Northfield council sets 200 foot data center trail setback

Northfield's City Council unanimously approved an amendment setting a 200 foot setback from existing or planned trails for data processing centers, matching the required distance from homes. The prior 3,950 foot rule had effectively barred data centers anywhere in Northfield. The vote changed zoning only; no project has been proposed.

KYMN Radio Siting, zoning and standards Noise, appearance and rural character

Check it: A zoning change creates possible sites but does not approve any specific project.

Supports the case against policy October 3, 2026

Minnesota attorney general tells PUC Google-Xcel Pine Island deal could shift costs to other ratepayers

Attorney General Keith Ellison filed comments with the Minnesota Public Utility Commission arguing that Xcel Energy's agreement to serve Google's proposed Pine Island data center does not adequately assign all costs to the large customer and could leave other ratepayers paying millions, and possibly more than a billion dollars. Ellison also noted that Xcel redacted most dollar amounts in filings. Xcel and Google say the deal complies with state law and that Google is funding the needed infrastructure.

MPR News Who pays for the grid buildout Secret contracts and disclosure Capacity prices and grid costs

Check it: Read the AG's filed comments and the Xcel-Google special contract to see which cost categories are actually assigned to Google and which are shared.

Supports the case against legal October 1, 2026

Minnesota attorney general tells PUC Xcel-Google Pine Island deal could shift about $1 billion to other customers

The attorney general's office filed comments arguing Xcel Energy has not shown that its proposed electric service agreement for Google's Pine Island data center is reasonable or consistent with state law requiring that costs attributable to very large customers be assigned to those customers. The filing warns other ratepayers could face about $1 billion in net costs, not the $1.1 billion in benefits Xcel claimed, and criticizes Xcel for redacting dollar figures.

Office of Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison Who pays for the grid buildout Secret contracts and disclosure Who holds the risk

Check it: This is an initial AG filing, not a PUC decision; the figures depend on contested cost assumptions Xcel has redacted from the public record.

Supports the case against local September 23, 2026

Woodbury, Minnesota adopts one year data center moratorium

The Woodbury City Council approved a moratorium on new data center permits, rezoning requests and conditional use permits for up to one year while staff studies water, power, noise and zoning. Staff said no data center applications or informal proposals are pending in the city.

Woodbury News Net Local opposition and consent Water use Siting, zoning and standards

Check it: Preemptive moratorium with no active proposal; verify whether it applies to expansions of existing IT loads.

Supports the case against local September 22, 2026

North Mankato passes 12 month data center moratorium

The North Mankato City Council unanimously passed a 12 month moratorium on new data centers after a public hearing where all four resident speakers supported the pause. During the moratorium the city will study large scale facilities, defined as those over 250,000 square feet or using at least 50,000 gallons of water a day, and the council can extend the pause by another year.

KEYC Local opposition and consent Water use Siting, zoning and standards

Check it: The moratorium is an interim ordinance and does not preclude the city from adopting different rules once its study is complete.

Supports the case against local September 19, 2026

Woodbury, MN considers up to one-year data center moratorium

Woodbury's city council is scheduled to consider a proposed interim ordinance on September 23 that could pause new data center applications for up to a year while the city develops zoning rules. The draft would block building permits, rezonings and conditional use permits for covered projects. City staff cite growing developer interest and the absence of specific data center rules in current zoning.

OPB Local opposition and consent Siting, zoning and standards

Check it: Confirm the outcome of the September 23 vote and the length of the moratorium adopted.

Supports the case against local September 19, 2026

Woodbury, Minnesota to vote September 23 on a one-year data center moratorium

Woodbury officials have released a draft interim ordinance that would pause new data center applications, building permits, rezonings and comprehensive plan changes for up to a year while staff draft permanent rules. City staff cite growing developer interest tied to AI and cloud expansion, while some council members say a pause could deter investment.

Woodbury News Net Siting, zoning and standards Local opposition and consent

Check it: The measure is only a draft going to the September 23 council meeting. It has not yet been adopted and would still allow projects already in the pipeline.

Cited by both sides local September 17, 2026

Data centers bring out new political candidates in Pine Island, Minnesota

In Pine Island, a town of 4,000 outside Rochester, at least three first-time candidates for mayor and city council are running because they oppose a proposed Google data center on roughly 88 acres that could later expand to more than 400 acres. Construction is currently paused pending an environmental review lawsuit; supporters cite promises of about 100 permanent jobs, 500 construction jobs and $131 million in projected property tax revenue.

MPR News Local opposition and consent Jobs Local property tax revenue

Check it: The job and revenue figures are the developer's forecast; check any independent fiscal analysis or the environmental review that halted construction.

Weighing it up

For the arguments behind these fights, see the case for data centers, the case against, and the questions people ask, each answered from both sides.