Data Centers - background and resources

Data Centers - just speaking these words draws a spectrum of reactions.  Necessary!  Necessary evil!  Economic gold mine!  Environmental disaster!  Depending on where you stand, your view of data centers will be different.

Maybe it's all true.  The data we use, that you are using now to read this, needs servers to house and transport it.    Construction of a data center takes lots of workers, so lots of jobs in construction, and then there will be workers needed to maintain the facility and equipment.  Community benefit agreements bring added funds into the community for a variety of needs like low-income power assistance, parks, schools and more.   Environmentally, data centers can use a lot of water and electricity, but they can be built to fully recycle water and use sustainable power.  Careful zoning can mitigate sound and visual issues.   

It's important that we are informed on this issue so we can participate fully in the discussion.  

The 2025 Special Legislative Session included a stand-alone Data Center bill - HF16 -  which was signed into law on June 14.   This bill clarified a number of environmental and economic issues around data centers.  It was a negotiated bill and did not address all issues, but is a start. This post on the LWV UMRR blog provides links to the legislation and a summary both of the bill's provisions and people's reactions to it.  ​

This short video from AP give s a good overview:

MinnPost has run a series of articles on data centers in Minnesota.  The Minnesota Star Tribune has reported on current events as they unfold.  Some additional resources:

Data centers consume massive amounts of water - companies rarely tell the public exactly how much.  This article looks at water use in major data centers.  It's authored by Peyton McCauley,  water policy specialist, Sea Grant UW Water Science-Policy Fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Melissa Scanlan, professor and director of the Center for Water Policy, School of Freshwater Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Can data centers lead to higher energy prices?  This article gives a resounding YES and backs it up with data.  This is a Fact Brief from MinnPost.

When done right, data centers can be community assets.  In this opinion piece, authors Luke Gaalswyk ,CEO of Ever-Green Energy, and Gregg Mast, executive director of Clean Energy Economy MN, outline benefits that can accrue to communities that host data centers.  

Why local officials in Minnesota are signing non-disclosure agreements.  In this news article, author Brian Arola, looks at the use of non-disclosure agreements in economic development settings.  

What new rules for data centers mean for the environment and the industry’s future in Minnesota, an article by Walker Orenstein for the Minnesota Star Tribune.   This article reports on the new Data Center law passed in Minnesota.

Developer halts two Minnesota data centers over permits for backup generators, also by Walker Orenstein for the Minnesota Star Tribune.  

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