Data centers in Minnesota: The next big election issue
Activists across Minnesota, led by figures like Aubree Derksen and Cathy Johnson, are intensifying their opposition to data center developments, including a Google project in Pine Island. After previous setbacks in local regulatory processes and the state legislature, opponents are now making data centers a key issue in upcoming city, county, and state elections. They cite environmental, health, and resource-management risks as primary concerns.
Aubree Derksen of Pine Island, Minnesota, is leading a grassroots movement opposing data center developments across the state, feeling like "David against Goliath" in her fight against a hyperscale data center project by Google and a developer on a rural field near her home. Derksen, along with allies like Cathy Johnson from Farmington, is part of a coalition aiming to halt projects in multiple Minnesota cities, including Farmington, Hermantown, Monticello, and Faribault. They accuse local governments of being swayed by economic development promises, overlooking residents' concerns about health, environmental impacts, and strain on local energy and water resources.
Despite vocal protests, many proposed developments have proceeded through local regulatory channels in the past two years, with only court orders providing temporary pauses in Pine Island and Faribault. Furthermore, legislative attempts to curb data center proposals failed in the last session, which Derksen found "incredibly disappointing."
This series of setbacks has prompted activists to pivot their strategy towards the upcoming election season. Derksen believes data centers will emerge as a "new single-issue voter" concern, influencing city, county, and state elections across Minnesota this fall. This sentiment was evident at recent DFL and GOP state conventions, where data center resolutions, including a moratorium (64% support) and calls for tighter regulations (76% support), gained significant traction among DFL delegates.
The issue has proven to be non-partisan, appealing to a broad spectrum of residents, including environmentalists like Johnson, who transitioned from retirement to activism due to the perceived "egregious projects." Despite the broad support for addressing data center impacts, there remains internal division within political parties, with pro-business moderates, labor groups, and environmentalists holding differing views on the necessary solutions.