Data center moratorium passed by Inver Grove Heights City Council
The Inver Grove Heights City Council approved an exemption to its data center moratorium, allowing a project by QLevr LLC to proceed. This decision comes after QLevr filed a lawsuit against the city following the initial moratorium. The council's vote, despite public opposition, aims to settle the legal challenge and avoid significant legal costs for the city.
The Inver Grove Heights City Council voted 3-1 to approve an exemption to its year-long data center moratorium, allowing a project by QLevr LLC to move forward. This decision was made on Monday following a legal challenge initiated by QLevr LLC, which had filed a lawsuit in July after the city initially enacted the moratorium, blocking the development of data centers. QLevr LLC, which owns the former Travel Tags property on Carmen Avenue East, argued its application was submitted before the moratorium's passage.
The proposed QLevr data center is a 54,000-square-foot facility designed to draw 5 megawatts of power and use closed-loop water cooling, reportedly equivalent to one to two households' water usage. Despite public pushback and criticism at Monday's meeting, the council approved the exemption. Council members, including Tony Scales, explained that continuing to fight the lawsuit would likely cost the city a minimum of $20 million with the data center still proceeding. The project will still require final approval from the council.