Elk, Bloom townships take action on proposed Nobles County data center

Elk and Bloom townships in Nobles County, Minnesota, are actively opposing a proposed hyperscale data center, with residents expressing "extreme opposition." Elk Township Board Chairman Andrew Dierks noted that the proposed site is in Section 19 of Elk Township. The Elk Township Board passed a resolution on February 24 to preserve agricultural land and oppose the data center, submitting it to the Nobles County Planning and Zoning office. Residents and officials from both townships voiced significant concerns at annual meetings, including the loss of farmland, light and noise pollution, water supply issues, potential "heat islands," hazardous waste, and increased electrical rates. Shelly Onken, Bloom Township treasurer, highlighted worries about the disposal of treated water from the closed-loop cooling system and the five-year obsolescence cycle of electronic equipment. Ian Vogel, a Slayton resident who researched the project, expressed concerns that the proposed large-scale closed-loop cooling system lacks long-term data in the U.S. and that the Alternative Urban Areawide Review (AUAR) scoping document for the project by Geronimo Power is inadequate, failing to address potential leaks, toxic coolants, or severe weather impacts. Geronimo Power, rebranded from National Grid Renewables and owned by Brookfield Asset Management, is the developer. The company had initially proposed a 400-megawatt data center, which could expand to 1,000 MW, equivalent to the energy use of 800,000 homes. Dierks and Lopez also raised concerns about the long-term financial risks for the county and townships, given the technology's rapid evolution and the average 10-15 year lifespan of data centers, questioning the projected tax benefits. Bloom Township is now initiating a 12-month moratorium on data center development to allow more time to study the environmental, economic, and community impacts. The Nobles County Planning Commission is scheduled to hold a public hearing on April 8 in Worthington to discuss a proposed text amendment to the county’s zoning ordinance that would permit data centers as a conditional use in agricultural preservation areas. Federal legislation (H.R. 8037) that could affect local control over data center projects was also mentioned.