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DataCentersExposed
U.S. data-center footprint

Minnesota

DataCentersExposed tracks 39 AI data centers in Minnesota — 4 operating and 7 in the pipeline — across 12 counties, drawing 1.6 GW of reported power demand from 10 tracked corporate operators. Minnesota's data-center tax break cost the state $68.7M in forgone revenue in FY2024.

Sources: Methodology, Coverage scorecard

Reporting by · Updated May 29, 2026

Tracked
39
data centers
Operating
4
live today
Pipeline
7
proposed / building
Demand
1.6 GW
6 w/ capacity
Counties
12
touched
Operators
10
corporate parents
The story so far

Minnesota at a glance

The largest footprint in Minnesota belongs to Cologix, Inc., behind 4 tracked facilities. DataBank Holdings, Ltd., Flexential Corp., and H5 Data Centers round out the most active operators in the state. Many of these sites are filed under shell or project names rather than the parent's — our operator column resolves them back to the real corporate parent wherever the chain is documented.

Geographically, the buildout clusters: Hennepin County leads Minnesota with 4 facilities and a composite risk score of 7/100. St. Louis County and Anoka County follow. Our county risk score weights project exposure (40%), power demand (30%), water draw (15%), and land footprint (15%); the full breakdown is shown on each county page.

Minnesota is not done growing. 7 facilities are in the pipeline — proposed, permitted, or under construction — which is where residents still have a say at zoning hearings and in rate cases. Each pending project is a decision about land, water, electricity prices, and tax revenue that hasn't been finalized.

We also surface the accountability trail: 8 state bills mentioning data centers and 6 recent news items are tracked for Minnesota below, pulled from LegiScan and GDELT and refreshed automatically. Legislation is linked to the counties and operators it names; news is classified by community sentiment.

Modeled scenario · not announced

2035 Buildout Outlook

via PNNL IM3 (CC BY 4.0)

Under the model's moderate-growth scenario (5%/yr annual load growth), PNNL's IM3 model sites about 1 standardized 36 MW campus in Minnesota by 2035 — roughly 36 MW of new electricity demand and ~35 M gal/yr of cooling water. Under the higher-growth scenario (15%/yr) that climbs to 10 campuses (360 MW). For scale, we currently track 39 real data centers in Minnesota (1.6 GW of reported power).

Modeled new campuses by demand-growth scenario
  • Low growth1
    36 MW · ~35 M gal/yr cooling water
  • Moderate growth1
    36 MW · ~35 M gal/yr cooling water
  • High growth5
    180 MW · ~174 M gal/yr cooling water
  • Higher growth10
    360 MW · ~348 M gal/yr cooling water

The model assigns ~100% of these campuses' cooling to evaporative water cooling in Minnesota (the rest to mechanical/air cooling), a split it derives from local water stress and wet-bulb temperature.

These are modeled candidate sites, not announced or permitted facilities. PNNL's IM3 model places identical 36 MW unit-campuses at feasible locations under each scenario — it shows where demand could concentrate, never a specific parcel. Figures use a market-gravity weight of 50. How the model works.

Who's building

Top operators in Minnesota

What the tax break costs

The taxpayer price tag

via Minnesota Legislative Budget Office (LBO)
$68.7Min forgone state revenue, FY2024
gross forgone state tax revenue ranges from a low of $43.9 million in 2013 to a high of $101.6 million in 2015 before slowly declining to $68.7 million by 2024.

Program-wide cost of Minnesota's data-center tax incentive(s), reported by the state — not attributable to a single facility. “Proj” = the state's own forward estimate; all other figures are realized/audited. Each links to its primary source.

Where it's concentrated

County risk leaderboard

Risk methodology
Still contested

Pipeline & proposals

42 of 39 shown

All tracked facilities

FacilityOperatorStatusCountyMW
Project SkywayRyan Companies US, Inc/GoogleProposedGoodhue1,200
Faribault Data CenterProposedRice
Monitcello Data CenterMonticello Tech, LLC,ProposedWright
TRACT Data CenterProposedDakota
TRACT Data CenterProposedDakota
US Internet Data CenterProposedHennepin
MSP1 Data CenterUnder constructionDakota12
Geronimo Power Data CenterBlockedNobles400
DataBankDataBank Holdings, Ltd.OperatingHennepin9
Flexential Minneapolis - ChaskaFlexential Corp.OperatingCarver9
H5 MinneapolisH5 Data CentersOperatingRamsey8
232 20th St NW, East Grand ForksMapped (unverified)
421 N 6th Ave EastMapped (unverified)
702 Communications - Moorhead, MNMapped (unverified)
Amazon Becker Data CenterAmazon.com, Inc.BlockedSherburne
Ark Duluth Data CenterPrime Data CentersOperatingSt. Louis
Centersquare Minneapolis (MSP1)CenterSquare (formerly Cyxtera)Mapped (unverified)
Cologix MIN1Cologix, Inc.Mapped (unverified)
Cologix MIN2Cologix, Inc.Mapped (unverified)
Cologix MIN3Cologix, Inc.Mapped (unverified)
Cologix MIN4Cologix, Inc.Mapped (unverified)
DataBank Minneapolis (MSP1)Mapped (unverified)
DataBank Minneapolis (MSP2)Mapped (unverified)
DataBank Minneapolis (MSP4)Mapped (unverified)
Duluth MissabeMapped (unverified)
EdgeConneX Minneapolis (EDCMSP01)Mapped (unverified)
Encompass Minneapolis FacilityMapped (unverified)Anoka
Epic / Mayo Data CenterMapped (unverified)Olmsted
Implex MinneapolisMapped (unverified)
Meta RosemountMeta Platforms, Inc.Mapped (unverified)Dakota
Minnesota Gateway Data CenterMapped (unverified)Hennepin
NP Belle Plaine (MSP1)Mapped (unverified)
NP RochesterMapped (unverified)
Project LoonAlphabet Inc.BlockedSt. Louis
Ridgeview MinnetonkaMapped (unverified)
SFN MN-Albert LeaMapped (unverified)
SFN MN-RochesterMapped (unverified)
TriTech CenterMapped (unverified)
US Internet - MinnetonkaMapped (unverified)
US Signal MN01 - MinneapolisMapped (unverified)
Verizon - Bloomington NetworkVerizon Communications Inc.Mapped (unverified)Hennepin
Zayo Minneapolis - 10300 6th Ave NMapped (unverified)

Methodology & sources

Facility counts include operating, under-construction, proposed, and permitted sites. Capacity (MW) combines operator disclosures, interconnection-queue estimates, and research datasets; see each facility for provenance. County risk scores weight project exposure (40%), power demand (30%), water draw (15%), and land footprint (15%), renormalized over measured factors.

Every row carries a confidence level (high / medium / low) and a source URL. Spot an error? Tell us.