What Woodbury Residents Should Know About IronGate’s Two Data Centers
IronGate Data Centers operates two facilities in Woodbury, Minnesota, which collectively have a potential power capacity of 100 megawatts at full buildout. The article discusses their electricity and water consumption, cooling methods, and potential impacts on city resources, including noise and the municipal water supply. The city's existing PFAS contamination is noted but not attributed to the data centers.
IronGate Data Centers operates two facilities, MSP 01 and MSP 02, located along Bielenberg Drive in Woodbury, Minnesota. The Twin Cities East facility (MSP 01) at 401 Bielenberg Drive is 85,000 square feet with 15 megawatts of live power and a potential for 66 megawatts at full buildout. The Twin Cities West facility (MSP 02) at 500 Bielenberg Drive is 300,000 square feet, with 4 megawatts of live power and future plans for 34 megawatts.
Combined, the two data centers have 19 megawatts of live power and a potential capacity of 100 megawatts at full buildout. This raises questions for Woodbury residents about power usage, city water, and future expansion. The article details the diverse chilled loop and liquid cooling systems used, noting that while closed-loop systems recirculate fluid, they can still transfer heat to cooling towers that lose water through evaporation, impacting municipal water consumption. The city's water supply comes from the Jordan aquifer, with current production averaging 4.6 million gallons daily in winter and up to 23 million gallons during peak summer demand, though no specific water consumption figures for the data centers are provided.
Under Minnesota law, the Public Utilities Commission considers how very large electric customers cover their service costs. Environmental concerns include noise from cooling fans and backup generators, though IronGate has not published noise studies for the Woodbury sites. The city acknowledges PFAS contamination in its groundwater from former 3M manufacturing sites, clarifying that it does not attribute this contamination to either IronGate facility.