Scott Jensen, Republican candidate for Minnesota State Auditor, warned that Google data center in Hermantown will alter Duluth's landscape and regional ecosystem through water demand, grid challenges, and St. Louis River runoff impacts
Google Hermantown Data Center
Google proposed a data center in Hermantown, northeast Minnesota, which it subsequently scaled back in scope while conducting community outreach events; the Duluth Chamber of Commerce endorsed the project. It is proposed, as reported September 3, 2026.
How much power it needs, how much water it would use and who would use it have not been disclosed.
How to read this page. Every fact links to the source it rests on; a number in brackets is its place in the source list. A figure no source gives reads Not disclosed, and nothing is estimated. Where sources give different figures, each is shown with who gave it, and another source's figure never stands in for the record's own. Entries are added and never overwritten; corrections are listed under What happened.
What is known
Each figure as its source gave it. The number in brackets is its place in the source list.
- Land
- Not disclosed
- Power it would draw
- Not disclosed
- Reported by others: 700 MW (enr.com, Engineering News-Record); 300 MW (enr.com). Their figure, not the record's.
- Water
- Not disclosed
- Who leads it
- as stated by the source
- Who would use it
- Not disclosed
- Jobs once it runs
- Not disclosed
- Tax each year
- Not disclosed
Every field, with who said it and when (Researcher view)
Impact figures
| Field | Value | Who says so | Source | Last verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| How much power it needs | Not disclosed | |||
| How much water it would use | Not disclosed | |||
| How loud it would be | Not disclosed | |||
| Jobs once it runs | Not disclosed | |||
| Tax it would pay each year | Not disclosed |
The record's fields
| Field | Value | Who says so | Source | Last verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who is building it | as stated by the source | September 17, 2026 | ||
| Who is constructing it | Not disclosed | |||
| How much land | Not disclosed | |||
| Where its power comes from | Not disclosed | |||
| Grid connection | Not disclosed | |||
| How it is cooled | Not disclosed |
How much power it needs, also reported: 700 MW, 2026 (enr.com: The Hermantown data center power agreement includes 700 megawatts of new clean energy resources, Engineering News-Record: The Google Hermantown data center requires 700 MW of new clean energy resources including 300 MW of wind energy and 400 MW of battery storage.); 300 MW, 2026 (enr.com: The Hermantown data center power agreement includes 300 megawatts of wind energy and 400 megawatts of battery storage) .
Tax it would pay each year, also reported: 80,000,000 USD, 2026 (enr.com: The Hermantown data center would receive an $80 million property tax break) .
The developer's figure is what the company said; what a permit allows is the ceiling a permit sets; measured means observed. Water is in gallons a day or a year, whichever the source stated; a tax claim given as a range shows both ends, each linked to the source that gave it.
Still not public, and where it would show up
The record adds each the day a source gives it. Why these documents.
- Water useA state water right filing or a water supply agreement.
- Who would use itA lease announcement or a tenant named in a filing.
- Power the campus would drawA utility or public service commission docket, an interconnection filing, or an air permit for an on site plant.
- Jobs and taxAn incentive agreement, a county's economic development filing or a fiscal note.
What happened
-
(source date; the content gives no date of its own)
In March, Minnesota Power signed an agreement with Google to supply power to the proposed Hermantown data center. [6]
-
(source date; the content gives no date of its own)
A $2 billion Google data center is proposed in Hermantown, Minnesota in the northeast part of the state. [6]
-
(source date; the content gives no date of its own)
Minnesota Power broke ground on a $450 million North Dakota high voltage direct current transmission modernization project with Mortenson as general contractor. [6]
-
(source date; the content gives no date of its own)
The North Dakota Public Service Commission approved permits for the transmission project in 2025 [6]
-
(source date; the content gives no date of its own)
In March 2026, Minnesota Power signed an agreement with Google to supply power to the proposed Hermantown data center [6]
-
(source date; the content gives no date of its own)
The converter station at Center, North Dakota will be part of the HVDC line [6]
-
(source date; the content gives no date of its own)
A $2 billion Google data center is proposed in Hermantown, Minnesota [6]
-
· Status: proposed (source date; the content gives no date of its own)
Minnesota Power has broken ground on a $450 million North Dakota high voltage direct current transmission modernization project [6]
The full Google Hermantown Data Center timeline, in order
15 corrections to this record
Every correction, with its reason
-
· the kind of source of a history entry
The source was labeled with the Google News search that found it; it now carries its outlet's tier (the record's rules of 2026-09-23). The link did not change. The day's label corrections.
-
· the kind of source of a history entry
The source was labeled with the Google News search that found it; it now carries its outlet's tier (the record's rules of 2026-09-23). The link did not change. The day's label corrections.
-
· the kind of source of a history entry
The source was labeled with the Google News search that found it; it now carries its outlet's tier (the record's rules of 2026-09-23). The link did not change. The day's label corrections.
-
· the kind of source of a history entry
The source was labeled with the Google News search that found it; it now carries its outlet's tier (the record's rules of 2026-09-23). The link did not change. The day's label corrections.
-
· the kind of source of a history entry
The source was labeled with the Google News search that found it; it now carries its outlet's tier (the record's rules of 2026-09-23). The link did not change. The day's label corrections.
-
· the kind of source of a history entry
The source was labeled with the Google News search that found it; it now carries its outlet's tier: the tier the record already gives enr.com. The link did not change. The day's label corrections.
-
· the kind of source of a history entry
The source was labeled with the Google News search that found it; it now carries its outlet's tier: the tier the record already gives enr.com. The link did not change. The day's label corrections.
-
· the kind of source of a history entry
The source was labeled with the Google News search that found it; it now carries its outlet's tier: the tier the record already gives enr.com. The link did not change. The day's label corrections.
-
· the kind of source of a history entry
The source was labeled with the Google News search that found it; it now carries its outlet's tier: the tier the record already gives enr.com. The link did not change. The day's label corrections.
-
· the kind of source of a history entry
The source was labeled with the Google News search that found it; it now carries its outlet's tier: the tier the record already gives enr.com. The link did not change. The day's label corrections.
-
· the kind of source of a history entry
The source was labeled with the Google News search that found it; it now carries its outlet's tier: the tier the record already gives enr.com. The link did not change. The day's label corrections.
-
· the kind of source of a history entry
The source was labeled with the Google News search that found it; it now carries its outlet's tier: the tier the record already gives enr.com. The link did not change. The day's label corrections.
-
· the kind of source of a history entry
The source was labeled with the Google News search that found it; it now carries its outlet's tier: the tier the record already gives enr.com. The link did not change. The day's label corrections.
-
· the kind of source of a history entry
Tier after resolution (2026-09-21). The source on file is enr.com, the publisher's own page. The item reached the record through Google News: "data center" Minnesota, which the record carries at tier 1, and the approve copied the feed's tier onto this row. The tier now comes from the outlet, which the record already carries at tier 4 on 2 rows of sources. DECISIONS section 7. The speaker, the claim, the date and the url are unchanged. The day's label corrections.
-
· the kind of source of a history entry
Tier after resolution (2026-09-21). The source on file is enr.com, the publisher's own page. The item reached the record through Google News: "data center" Minnesota, which the record carries at tier 1, and the approve copied the feed's tier onto this row. The tier now comes from the outlet, which the record already carries at tier 4 on 2 rows of sources. DECISIONS section 7. The speaker, the claim, the date and the url are unchanged. The day's label corrections.
Every correction on the record is on the corrections page.
What was said
DNR Deputy Director Randall Doneen raised concerns about the environmental review for the proposed Hermantown data center, including gaps in groundwater data and lack of alternative site analysis
Josh Skelton, Minnesota Power CEO, said the modernization provides flexibility when extreme weather hits, system conditions change quickly, or energy is needed in a different place than expected.
Every statement about data centers in Minnesota, by speaker
5 more statements on this page
Andrea Zupancich, Republican candidate for Minnesota state Senate
Grant Hauschild as part of Senate Tax Committee greenlit bills giving tax breaks to data centers
Jobs for Minnesotans executive
Jobs for Minnesotans supports local data center development and trusts Minnesota's strict policies protecting environment, water quality, and energy generation
Republican candidate for Minnesota state Senate
Jobs for Minnesotans nonprofit board member Andrea Zupancich opposes tax breaks for data centers while running for state Senate against Grant Hauschild who supports them
The Hermantown data center faces opposition from residents opposed to its proposed $80 million property tax break and concerns about water, noise and power use.
The site
Where in St. Louis County is not in the public record. The pin marks the county seat, not a building, and the outline is the county.
Tap a pin for the data center, the parcel for its record
- This record: Proposed, ringed
- data center
- Dashed edge: the exact site is not in the public record
- Smaller pins: 12 other published records in Minnesota
Details
- this record's location, ringed
- parcel outline, from the county parcel record
- city limits, U.S. Census Bureau, on a town level record
- county boundary
The other pins are the published projects in the same state, each in its stage color. The imagery beneath is the USGS national orthoimagery, public domain, shown so the land around the site can be read.
- Where
- Hermantown, St. Louis County, Minnesota
- How exactly it is located
- County level, the county seat
- The parcel
- No parcel outline in the public record
- Nearest homes
- Not computed for a record placed at a place center
- Nearest records
- Nearest records are not computed for a record placed at a county seat.
Comparisons
3 metrics with more than one figure
Capacity at full buildout
2 figures, 1 sourceNot disclosedNot disclosed
700 MWReported
300 MWReported
Show each source's words
- 700 MW, enr.com: The Hermantown data center power agreement includes 700 megawatts of new clean energy resources
- 300 MW, enr.com: The Hermantown data center power agreement includes 300 megawatts of wind energy and 400 megawatts of battery storage
Project footprint
1 figure, 1 source300 acresReported
Show each source's words
- 300 acres, Duluth News Tribune: Proposed Hermantown data center complex covers nearly 300 acres
Tax each year
1 figure, 1 sourceNot disclosedNot disclosed
80,000,000 USDReported
Show each source's words
- 80,000,000 USD, enr.com: The Hermantown data center would receive an $80 million property tax break
Questions about this project
7 questions answered from the record
How big is Google Hermantown Data Center?
-
Not disclosed. No source on file gives its capacity, its acreage or a count of buildings. What the record holds instead is under Disclosed.
Who is building Google Hermantown Data Center?
-
Google is the developer. No construction contractor is named on the record yet.
Who will use Google Hermantown Data Center?
-
Not disclosed. No source on file names a tenant, says whether the site is single or multi tenant, or states what it is for. The record keeps the use as not disclosed until one does; see Who it serves.
How much power and water does Google Hermantown Data Center say it needs?
-
Power: not disclosed by any source on file. Water: not disclosed by any source on file.
Where does Google Hermantown Data Center stand today?
-
It is proposed, as reported September 3, 2026. The newest entry, reported September 3, 2026: In March, Minnesota Power signed an agreement with Google to supply power to the proposed Hermantown data center. [6]
What has Hermantown or St. Louis County decided about it?
-
No decision by Hermantown or St. Louis County about data centers is on the record. The St. Louis County page and the Minnesota scorecard list every rated row the day a person publishes one.
What is still unknown about Google Hermantown Data Center?
-
Not disclosed by any source on file: how much power it needs, how much water it would use, how loud it would be, jobs once it runs, tax it would pay each year, who is constructing it, how much land, where its power comes from, grid connection, how it is cooled. No missing primary document is listed for this record yet; What the record lacks is where one appears when a person names it.
Sources
Primary documents
- Google: Data center locations, Google, September 14, 2026
Reporting
- Duluth Chamber backs Hermantown Google data center project - WDIO.com, WDIO.com, September 2, 2026, local outlet
- A tale of two data centers: Google hosts events in to woo residents of Hermantown and Pine Island - MPR News, MPR News, August 20, 2026, local outlet
- Google scales back proposed data center in northeast Minnesota - Star Tribune, Star Tribune, August 20, 2026, local outlet
- Google launches a charm offensive in 2 Minnesota towns as data center opposition grows - MPR News, MPR News, August 20, 2026, local outlet
- Mortenson Tapped for $450M HVDC Transmission Project in North Dakota and Minnesota - enr.com, enr.com, September 3, 2026, local outlet
6 sources on file.
Cite this record
Data Center Record, "Google Hermantown Data Center", https://datacenterrecord.org/projects/google-hermantown-data-center-mn, last verified September 17, 2026.
Cite this page
Data Center Record, "Google Hermantown Data Center", https://datacenterrecord.org/projects/google-hermantown-data-center-mn. Data: Data Center Record, datacenterrecord.org, CC BY 4.0.
The structured rows are CC BY 4.0. Link to this page; that is what turns a reuse into a citation. Prose stays under copyright.
For researchers
- Slug
- google-hermantown-data-center-mn
- Status value
- proposed
- Stage
- Proposed
- Tier
- skeleton
- Tags
- skeleton
- Place id
- us/mn/st-louis-county/hermantown
- Coordinates
- 46.78444, -92.10528
- Location precision
- county
- Location source
- County seat (Duluth), Wikidata, placed at county level
- Coordinate source
- wikidata county seat
- Location source number
- Not disclosed
- Location last verified
- September 16, 2026
- EPA registry id
- Not disclosed
- Use type values
- not_disclosed
- Tenancy value
- not_disclosed
- Cooling type value
- not_disclosed
- Capacity basis
- not_disclosed
- Water basis
- not_disclosed, gallons_per_day
- Acreage basis
- Not disclosed
- Interconnection value
- not_disclosed
- Capacity, if disclosed
- Not disclosed
- Rating of the county's rows
- Not disclosed
- Published
- 2026-09-05
- Last verified
- 2026-09-17