Facebook Altoona Data Center 5
Polk County, IA
Source: OpenStreetMap
Facebook Altoona Data Center 5 is a mapped data center in Polk County, IA, operated by Facebook USA, Inc. and ultimately owned by Meta Platforms, Inc.. DataCentersExposed has documented a 628,003 sq ft footprint at this site.
Reporting by Eric Keller · Updated Jun 14, 2026
Overview
source: linkFacebook Altoona Data Center 5 is a mapped data center facility in Polk County, Iowa, run by Facebook USA, Inc., a subsidiary ultimately owned by Meta Platforms, Inc. The site spans 628,003 square feet and draws power from Midamerican Energy Co within the MISO grid. It is one of Meta's data center developments in the area.
Operator chain
- Ultimate parentMeta Platforms, Inc.
- Files asFacebook USA, Inc.
- This facilityFacebook Altoona Data Center 5
The grid behind this site, right now
source: MISO · gridstatus- Natural Gas34.4%
- Coal32.8%
- Solar15.4%
- Nuclear10.2%
- Wind4.1%
- Other2.2%
- Imports0.9%
Real-time generation mix for the MISO grid this site draws from, as of Aug 17, 2026, 8:05 PM. ISO-wide, not this facility's own metering. Source: gridstatus.
Grid & water — why here
source: HIFLD · EPAThe closest existing grid infrastructure and the municipal water system this location sits in — the same constraints the buildout model screens on (it won't site a campus more than ~2 km from a substation or ~5 km from municipal water). Distances are straight-line to public HIFLD/EPA features, not a metered connection.
In the news
source: Google News- Data Center Gas Plants to Boost US Power Emissions by 20%Bloomberg.com· Aug 18, 2026
- Singapore-based Data Center Operator Is Said to Confidentially File for $5 Billion IPO in USBloomberg.com· Aug 11, 2026
- US Drafts Ban on China Data Center Components, Reuters SaysBloomberg.com· Aug 4, 2026
- Meta, BlackRock partner on $14 billion El Paso data center ventureCNBC· Jul 28, 2026
- DW News. . Can Germany break US data center dominance on German soil? One home-grown billionaire is giving it a shot. #dwbusinessfacebook.com· Jul 27, 2026
- Data Centers on Track to Suck Up a Fifth of US Power Use by 2035Bloomberg.com· Jul 21, 2026
Tax breaks & subsidies
source: Good Jobs First / GASB 77No per-deal tax break is linked to this site yet. No state discloses the recipient of a data-center abatement at the facility level, so per-site deals are rare in the public record. If you have a development agreement or board resolution for this site, send it to us.
Water use
No public record of this facility's water use. We check state withdrawal reporting for self-supplied sites; municipally supplied sites only become visible through a public-records request to the local water utility — a per-facility request tool is coming. If you have a utility document for this site, send it to us.
EPA permits & violations
source: EPA ECHONo reported violations as of last sync.
Air quality near this site
source: AirNowAir Quality Index from the nearest AirNow reporting area (Des Moines), as of 2026-06-10. Regional context — not this facility's own emissions.
Who lives nearby
source: Census ACS 2023Demographics of the census tract this facility sits in (American Community Survey 5-year estimates). Environmental-justice context for who bears the local impacts.
Nearest school
source: HIFLD / NCESThe nearest public school, Delaware Elementary in Des Moines, is 2.2 mi from this site (398 students).
Schools are sensitive receptors for the noise, backup-generator exhaust, and traffic a large data center brings. Straight-line distance to the nearest public school (HIFLD/NCES, US public schools only).
Hearings timeline
No public-hearing records linked to this site yet. We surface planning-commission and board-of-supervisors dates when a record names a facility. If you know of a hearing on this site, tell us.