Data center backlash ousts incumbents in some Minnesota towns
Opposition to Google data center projects influenced local elections in Pine Island and Hermantown, Minnesota, helping political newcomers defeat or outpoll incumbents who supported the developments. Hermantown opponents have also filed a lawsuit challenging the project’s environmental review, while Pine Island’s project is on hold pending a more thorough state-supervised review.
Backlash against proposed Google data centers became a decisive issue in several Minnesota local elections. In Pine Island, mayor-elect Mark Lang defeated an interim mayor who supported the project, while data center opponents won council seats. In Hermantown, Emma Richtman and Candi Mock won council seats after campaigning against a proposed 1.7 million-square-foot facility, following an approval vote by the city council.
The projects have drawn criticism over secrecy, nondisclosure agreements, environmental impacts and the way local officials handled approvals. Pine Island’s project is on hold under a settlement requiring a more extensive environmental review overseen by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. In Hermantown, the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy and Stop the Hermantown Data Center filed a lawsuit in St. Louis County court alleging that the project’s environmental review violates state requirements. Opposition and support were mixed in Monticello, where officials and candidates took differing positions on a proposed hyperscale data center.