Who owns Project Loon?

Project Loon is operated by Google LLC and ultimately owned by Alphabet Inc..

Has Project Loon had environmental violations?

As of the latest EPA ECHO sync, no enforcement actions are on record for Project Loon.

Where is Project Loon located?

Project Loon is in Hermantown, St. Louis County, MN.

Blocked

Project Loon

Q: What do data center tax breaks cost in Minnesota?

Minnesota reported $68.7M in Qualified Data Center Equipment sales/use tax exemption (Minn. Stat. § 297A.68 subd. 42) — evaluation actuals for FY2024 (Minnesota Legislative Budget Office (LBO) / University of Georgia evaluators). That is a statewide program figure, not attributable to one site.

Hermantown, St. Louis County, MN

Source: Primary source

Project Loon is a blocked data center in St. Louis County, MN, operated by Google LLC and ultimately owned by Alphabet Inc.. DataCentersExposed has documented a 1,800,000 sq ft footprint at this site.

Reporting by Eric Keller · Updated Jun 18, 2026

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Campaign · Decision pending

Take action

St. Louis, Minnesota

supporters

Project Loon in Hermantown, MN is contested. Petition: https://www.change.org/p/stop-the-hermantown-data-center-protect-our-community-and-environment | Group: https://stopthehermantowndatacenter.org/ Track what's being decided, when, and how to weigh in.

Your action kit

Sourced arguments and ready-to-send letters — every figure links to a primary record. Edit to add your own story.

Process

Demand a full, public review — not a rubber stamp.

Ask for an independent noise study, a water-and-power impact assessment, enforceable conditions (setbacks, hours, cooling type), and that the record stays open for written comment. Procedural shortcuts have voided approvals elsewhere.

Public comment (editable)

Edit freely before sending — it's a starting point. Add your own story; personal comments carry the most weight.

Records / FOIA request

Public Records Request

To the records custodian for St. Louis County, MN,

Under the applicable public-records law, I request copies of the following records concerning the data-center project known as "Project Loon":

1. The complete application, including any rezoning, special-use/conditional-use permit, or site-plan submissions and all exhibits.
2. All staff reports, analyses, and recommendations.
3. Any traffic, noise, water-use, stormwater, or utility/load studies submitted or commissioned.
4. Any development agreement, proffers, or tax-incentive/abatement agreements and their term sheets.
5. All correspondence between the applicant (or its agents) and county/city staff or elected officials regarding this project.
6. Notices of public hearings and proof of required public notice.

I request these in electronic form where available. If any portion is withheld, please cite the specific exemption. If fees will exceed $25, please contact me first.

Thank you,
[Your name]
[Your email / address]

Edit freely before sending — it's a starting point. Add your own story; personal comments carry the most weight.

Join the campaign

Add your name and we'll email you before every hearing, with what to say and where to show up.

Neighbors taking a stand

Be the first to say why this matters. Public notes appear here to show officials the strength of local feeling.

Est. capacity

~360-725 MW

Footprint

1,800,000 sq ft

Attribution & capacity confidence:mediumprimary source

Overview

source: link

Developer has put project on hold in order to hold an open house to address community concerns, while city officials decide whether an additional environmental review is warranted. Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy filed a lawsuit with the citizen group "Stop the Hermantown Data Center" against the city of Hermantown, challenging their environmental review Announced investment: $0.65. Imported from the FracTracker Alliance U.S. Data Centers Tracker after review. Details to be corroborated from primary sources.

Operator chain

Ultimate parent
Alphabet Inc.
Files as
Google LLC
This facility
Project Loon

Grid & water — why here

source: HIFLD · EPA

Nearest substation

0.6 mi

Tap135622 · 115 kV

Transmission line

0.5 mi

230 kV line

Municipal water

No service area

self-supplied or unmapped

The 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: GDELT

Data-center discussions in St. Louis County

source: LocalView (CC0)

Local-government meetings in this county that discussed data centers, each cued to the moment. From the public LocalView corpus of government meetings on YouTube — a county-level signal, not necessarily about this specific site.

St. Louis Park Planning Commission

Aug 16, 2023 · 10 data-center mentions

St. Louis Park City Council

Jun 27, 2022 · 2 data-center mentions

St. Louis Park Unknown

Jan 8, 2020 · 2 data-center mentions

Tax breaks & subsidies

source: Good Jobs First / GASB 77

No 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.

Statewide cost of this incentive

Minnesota reported $68.7M in Qualified Data Center Equipment sales/use tax exemption (Minn. Stat. § 297A.68 subd. 42) — evaluation actuals for FY2024 (Minnesota Legislative Budget Office (LBO) / University of Georgia evaluators). Program-wide, not attributable to this site.

source · All Minnesota subsidies →

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 ECHO

No reported violations as of last sync.

Nearest school

source: HIFLD / NCES

The nearest public school, A.I. Jedlicka Middle School in Proctor, is 3.1 mi from this site (448 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.

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