Data Centers in Iowa Resource Hub

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This section provides summary information about the size, type, and number of data centers in Iowa. It also discusses the expansion in electrical generation capacity required to meet the dramatic increase in demand caused by the increase in the number of hyperscale data centers coming to Iowa.

Almost every Iowan relies on services data centers provide almost every day. Credit card purchases, online bank transactions, email and photo storage, Amazon orders, Google searches, Zoom meetings, and Netflix binges all depend on the processing, storage, and transmission of batches of data.

The term, “Data Center,” is often applied generally to three different types of facilities that consume various amounts of electricity, typically measured in Megawatts (MW) or Megawatt hours (MWh): 

• Crypto-currency mining operations (1 - 30 MW)
• Small (1 - 5 MW) and mid-size data center facilities (5 - 50 MW)
• Large hyperscaler data centers servicing cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) facilities (100 - 1,000 MW).

Crypto-Currency Mining Operations in Iowa

Crypto mining in Iowa is best understood not as a handful of large, visible facilities but as a distributed network of small-to-mid-sized operations layered onto the electric grid. Known activity includes a mix of operators such as the MiningStore (with a statewide portfolio of sites), Compass Mining (developing larger standalone facilities), and Simple Mining (pursuing modular container-based projects in northeast Iowa). Individually, these sites typically range from a few megawatts up to 20–30 MW, but collectively they represent a growing load footprint—estimated at ~90 MW statewide and continuing to expand.

Geographically, mining activity follows power system economics rather than population centers. The highest concentration appears in western and northwestern Iowa, where access to the Southwest Power Pool enables participation in wholesale electricity markets, including periods of very low or even negative pricing due to high concentrations of wind energy in the area. Central and eastern Iowa—within the Midcontinent Independent System Operator footprint—host additional sites, including larger, more visible facilities. Across all regions, proximity to wind generation, transmission infrastructure, and substations is a consistent siting driver.

Utility structure plays a decisive role too. While the investor-owned utilities, MidAmerican Energy and Alliant Energy, cover most of the state, a significant share of mining activity appears in rural electric cooperative territories, where operators may find more flexible contracting arrangements or underutilized capacity. Some facilities are also located in areas served by municipal electric utilities.  For example, Cedar Falls Utilities currently serves around 45 MW of demand from two crypto mining companies and the firm, Simple Mining, has expressed interest in locating in their service area, which has raised concerns in the community. 

Overall, crypto mining’s distributed footprint, reliance on modular construction, and alignment with wholesale power markets distinguish it sharply from conventional data center facilities. 

Sources: 

• _{Cedar Falls Utilities, We Hear Your Concerns About Cryptocurrency Mining, 04-16-26.}
• _{Compass Mining, Compass Mining Energizes New 30 MW Self-Owned Bitcoin Mining Facility in Iowa, 04-29-26.} 
• _{Compass Mining, Compass Mining Energizes New 4.5 MW Site in Iowa in Partnership with DIGTB, 03-25-26.}
• _{Iowa Public Radio, Cedar Falls residents object to proposed crypto mining site at rezoning meeting, 03-26-26}
• _{MiningStore, 62.5 MW Bitcoin Mining in Iowa.} 
• _{Southwest Power Pool (SPP), Markets and Operations.}
• _{Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), Markets and Operations.}
• _{Reddit, Our 5MW mining site in Iowa.}

Small and Mid-Size Data Centers in Iowa

Small data centers in Iowa are typically specialized and decentralized facilities designed to bring data processing closer to users and devices.  They minimize the physical distance data travels, reducing latency and optimizing bandwidth for time-sensitive applications. These facilities are widely distributed across cities such as Waterloo, Davenport, Cedar Rapids, Sioux City, and Monticello. Many operate in the 1–3 MW range, with some expanding toward 5 MW as demand increases.

These small data centers primarily serve:

• Regional businesses (healthcare systems, financial firms, manufacturing IT)
• Government and municipal IT systems
• Disaster recovery and backup infrastructure
• Telecommunications edge routing and fiber interconnection

Mid-size data centers (5-50 MW)  bridge the gap between small enterprise colocation and hyperscale cloud campuses. These sites are primarily located in the Des Moines metro (largest concentration), the Cedar Rapids corridor, the Council Bluffs / Omaha- are, and in some suburban industrial parks with strong fiber access. In Ames, Lightedge, a data protection company that has two data centers in Des Moines, is interested in building a 100,000 square-foot building at the James Herman Banning Ames Municipal Airport.

Mid-size facilities in Iowa generally serve:

• Cloud edge workloads and regional cloud nodes
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) inference and training clusters (in newer builds)
• Enterprise cloud hosting and managed services
• Interconnection hubs between fiber networks and hyperscale providers

Taken together, the ~50 small- and mid-size data centers represent the majority of Iowa’s data centers currently in operation. Collectively, they rely on low-cost electricity, fiber backbone density, as well as a relatively stable climate and low disaster risk.

Sources: 

• _{ARK Data Centers. Cedar Rapids, Iowa Data Center.}
• _{Aureon Networks. Des Moines Data Center Ecosystem Overview.}
• _{GoDataCenters. Data Centers in Iowa — Colocation Facilities Overview.}
• _{DataCenterAndColocation. Iowa Data Centers & Colocation Consulting.}
• _{Des Moines Register, Data center plan advances in Ames, June 22, 2026.}
• _{Iowa Communications Network (ICN). Colocation Services.}
• _{ITS Data Centers (Infrastructure Technology Solutions). Colocation Services.}

Large Hyperscale Data Centers in Iowa

Hyperscale data centers are massive, highly scalable industrial facilities designed for cloud computing, big data, and AI workloads, typically containing over 5,000 servers and exceeding 10,000 square feet. Cleanview, which tracks over 1,000 data centers in the United States, regularly updates this map of large hyperscale data centers that are currently operating in Iowa or are planned for construction. 

EXISTING or OPERATIONAL

Through April 2026, CEDI has identified the following large, hyperscale data centers that are currently operating in Iowa:

PLANNED or UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Through April 2026, CEDI has identified the following large, hyperscale data centers whose plans for construction have been announced:

* After losing an annexation battle in Wisconsin, QTS recently signed an Energy Supply Agreement (ESA) with Alliant Energy’s Iowa affiliate, Interstate Power and Light Company. The company is actively engaged in discussions with the City of Clinton for QTS 2. Not surprisingly, public reaction to the possibility is mixed. According to the Mayor of Clinton, Iowa, the 1,100-acre data center project envisioned by QTS for Clinton would be significantly larger than its roughly 700-acre project in Cedar Rapids. 

Expansion of Electric Generation Capacity

In order to meet this unprecedented and rapid increase in electricity demand, Iowa’s investor-owned utilities, MidAmerican Energy and Interstate Power and Light (dba Alliant Energy), have received approval or are seeking approval to build several new electric generation and energy storage facilities.  For example, MidAmerican recently received approval from the Iowa Utilities Commission to build up to 800 MW of solar, and Alliant Energy recently received approval to build up to 1,000 MW of new wind generating capacity. These intermittent generation facilities will be paired, however, with at least 400 MW of energy storage facilities in Alliant’s service territory as well as several new natural gas-fired power plants in both utility service areas:

Based on annual data submitted to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), MidAmerican currently has 1,535 MW of natural gas-fired generating capacity and Alliant Energy has 1,729 MW. See table below:

Together,  Alliant and MidAmerican currently have 3,264 MW of installed capacity. About half of this capacity is combined cycle, which runs more often and thus helps to furnish base load power; the rest is simple-cycle, which only comes online when loads are peaking. If all of the facilities in the table above are approved and constructed, this would more than double the collective installed capacity of natural gas-fired power plants in Iowa.  

As noted above, the Central Iowa Power Cooperative (CIPCO), which generates electricity for over half of the 42 rural electric cooperatives in Iowa, is also seeking to build a 240 MW Simple-Cycle (Peaker) Combustion Turbine facility in Scott County. The county’s board of supervisors recently voted unanimously to reject the site for the proposed power plant, but the ultimate decision about whether the facility can be built is up to the Iowa Utilities Commission. Similar concerns are being voiced by many citizens in Linn County about Alliant’s proposed Morgan Valley Energy Center. 

This large and rapid buildout of natural gas-fired power plants is not unique to Iowa.  According to the nonpartisan Environmental Integrity Project, at least 74 gas-burning plants are being built or have been proposed to power data centers around the United States. If all are built, they will generate 143 gigawatts of electricity – enough to power the state of California nearly three times over – along with 662 million tons per year of greenhouse gas pollution, which is equivalent to the annual greenhouse gas emissions of Australia.

SOURCES:

• _{The New York Times, The Impending Inescapable Deluge of A.I., June 29,2026}

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This section summarizes the various benefits that data centers can bring to Iowa and then explores in greater detail several concerns related to the development incentives provided by the state and local governments as well as significant concerns related to water supply, water, air, and noise pollution, vast energy consumption, and infrastructure costs related to electricity generation and transmission.

Data centers underpin the digital infrastructure that businesses, governments, and households rely on every day—supporting cloud computing, real-time communications, logistics optimization, financial systems, and remote work.

The artificial intelligence (AI) workloads that hyperscale facilities host extend those benefits further. AI systems trained and deployed in hyperscale environments are driving major advances in many sectors, including medicine, agriculture, and energy. They also enhance public services and scientific research by enabling large-scale data analysis that would otherwise be infeasible–for example, in materials science and climate modelling. 

At the same time, AI is already impacting lots of entry level jobs in areas like customer support, bookkeeping, basic legal drafting, software coding, and data processing, as well as some mid-skill roles needed in sectors like finance, insurance, marketing, and back-office administration. These impacts do not bode well for the many employed in the financial services area in Des Moines and elsewhere around the state.  

Agriculture could also see reduced demand for certain types of labor as AI-driven precision farming, autonomous equipment, and predictive analytics lower the need for manual labor and monitoring. The same is true in manufacturing, which faces ongoing automation that will likely displace routine production line positions. Workers in at-risk roles may face longer periods of unemployment or be pushed into lower-wage service work.

Like it or not, Iowa has become one of the Midwest's leading destinations for data center investment, driven by low electricity rates, abundant wind energy, affordable land, and competitive tax incentives. While these facilities can provide significant economic benefits, there are also considerable costs and risks associated with the tax incentives used to lure the industry to Iowa as well as the water, energy, and infrastructure investments required to operate these facilities.

Economic Benefits

Large-scale data center construction generates significant short-term employment for electricians, plumbers, steelworkers, and general contractors. A hyperscale project can sustain regional construction trades for several years. At the same time, these huge construction projects produce large amounts of waste, which can present challenges. For example, the construction underway in Cedar Rapids is rapidly increasing the amount of waste disposed of at the landfill and thus shortening the projected life of the landfill for all residents.

Once operational, data centers often become among the largest property taxpayers in their host counties – once tax exemptions expire, that is. The industry's national contribution to government revenues — federal, state, and local combined — rose from $66.2 billion in 2017 to $162.7 billion in 2023, according to a report published by the Data Center Coalition. Locally, counties benefit from an expanded and relatively stable tax base. Because data center infrastructure is expensive to build and difficult to relocate, these investments have the potential to be long-term taxpayers.

Beyond direct employment, data centers drive sustained spending on utilities, security, maintenance, and local contracting. High-capacity fiber infrastructure laid to serve data centers also benefits surrounding businesses and residents. Industry advocates argue that each data center job generates a multiplier effect of more than six additional supporting roles in the broader economy, though this figure is disputed by some researchers who note the limited direct employment at automated facilities.

State Tax Incentives

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), 38 states currently offer dedicated tax incentives for data centers, ranging from sales and use tax exemptions for computers and electricity to property tax abatements.

Iowa offers one of the more comprehensive state-level data center sales and use tax  incentive programs in the country:

According to DataCenters.com, these Iowa sales and use tax exemptions currently amount to $150 million annually. Analysts expect this figure to grow substantially with the rapid buildout of data centers in Iowa. Google's Council Bluffs campus alone has received more than $36 million in tax incentives to date.

DataCenters.com estimates that the incentives could bring in over $3 billion in new data center investment by 2030, potentially creating 4,000+ temporary construction jobs, 2,500+ permanent operational and technical roles, as well as thousands of indirect jobs in logistics, energy, maintenance, and retail.

Iowa is not alone in offering generous tax breaks. A recent report by Good Jobs First found that at least 10 states lose more than $100 million per year to data center tax breaks. The report identified Iowa as one of the states with limited public disclosure, noting that Iowa's indefinite sales tax exemption for data center electricity and fuel has no sunset provision and no individual-company disclosure requirement.

Nationally, many states are reassessing their incentives to attach additional requirements or even repeal them completely.

Local Incentives

The most consequential incentives for data centers are provided locally by cities and counties.  The incentives include property tax relief, infrastructure support, and site development commitments. 

Cities commonly rely on Tax Increment Financing (TIF) or similar agreements to rebate a substantial share of new property taxes generated by a data center back to the developer over a period that can stretch 10–20 years. Because these facilities involve billions in investment but relatively few jobs, TIF helps make projects financially viable while deferring the full tax benefit to the community until later years. Alongside this, some communities use phased property tax abatements or custom rebate agreements tied to investment milestones and assessed value growth.

Local governments also frequently subsidize the infrastructure needed to support these energy- and water-intensive facilities. This can include extending roads, water mains, and sewer systems; coordinating or cost-sharing for electric substations and transmission upgrades; and, in some cases, making direct contributions to infrastructure or community funds tied to the project. In Altoona, for example, the city supported the development of large-scale data centers (notably for Meta) with TIF-backed infrastructure improvements and site preparation that helped transform agricultural land into a major data hub. Similarly, Waukee partnered with Apple on a major project that included infrastructure commitments and community payments alongside property tax relief mechanisms.

A third layer involves land, zoning, and site-readiness incentives, which can be just as decisive as direct financial subsidies. Communities often assemble or discount land, fast-track rezoning, and pre-certify “shovel-ready” industrial sites to reduce development risk and timelines. In Council Bluffs—one of the Midwest’s most established data center clusters—local and regional efforts have focused on ready-to-build sites with robust power access, helping attract major operators like Microsoft and Google. 

To sum up, Iowa's state and local incentives are structured primarily around capital investment thresholds rather than employment requirements. Critics note this means large exemptions can be granted to facilities with relatively few permanent employees. Proponents counter that capital-intensive facilities provide long-term fiscal stability that offsets the upfront revenue loss.

Water, Energy, Pollution, and Infrastructure Concerns

Water Consumption  

Water has become the second-largest constraint on new data center development, surpassed only by power availability. While some data centers utilize water-free cooling systems, most large data centers rely on evaporative cooling systems that consume significant quantities of water. A single hyperscale campus can evaporate more water daily than a town of 10,000 people.

Data centers in Iowa primarily source their water from local municipal water utilities (potable drinking water systems) and underground aquifers, particularly the Jordan Aquifer, for evaporative cooling systems. Major sites, including those in West Des Moines and Council Bluffs, often rely on city water to cool equipment, which is sometimes drawn from nearby rivers like the Missouri River.  Google’s data center facilities in Council Bluffs consume over 1 billion gallons of water per year.

Recently, Iowa's state geologist called for a protection plan for Iowa’s “precious groundwater” due to new and increasing pumping demands from data centers, ethanol plants, other industrial facilities, and animal confinement feeding operations. The Des Moines metro area, where the majority of Iowa's data centers are currently concentrated, does not have access to particularly abundant groundwater resources. 

Data centers also consume water indirectly, through their electricity use. Most electrical power generation, whether coal, natural gas, or nuclear, utilize water in steam generators to convert heat energy into electrical energy. The majority of water used by these facilities, however, is used to cool the generation equipment. 

As noted in the previous section, several new natural gas-fired power plants are being proposed to cope with the increase in demand caused by the buildout of data centers in Iowa. All of the facilities will use water to cool generating equipment.  In addition, Google has partnered with NextEra Energy to restart the Duane Arnold Energy Center near Palo, Iowa. Google wants to use the electricity from the 600 MW boiling water nuclear reactor to power several hyperscale data center buildings to be located nearby. Once restarted, the Duane Arnold Energy Center will withdraw an average of approximately 8.1 to 9.6 million gallons of water per day from the Cedar River to support its cooling system.

Energy Consumption

U.S. data center annual energy use in 2023 (not accounting for cryptocurrency) was approximately 176 terawatt-hours (TWh), approximately 4.4% of U.S. annual electricity consumption that year, according to a report by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. More recently, a  report published by the U.S. Congressional Research Service projected that data centers could account for 16–23% of total U.S. electricity consumption by 2030. That is an astounding increase.

Crypto mining operations (1-30 MW) are the most energy-intensive relative to their economic output. The Grundy County MiningStore facility's electricity consumption exceeds the combined residential usage of the entire town of Grundy Center. By way of comparison, a typical large hyperscale data center consumes between 20 MW and 100 MW continuously. A 100 MW facility uses roughly 2,400 MWh  per day,  which can power roughly 80,000 to 100,000 U.S. households. 

Some massive, AI-focused data center campuses can exceed 650 MW per day, enough to power over 500,000 homes.  Google and QTS are each building 600 MW data center complexes in the Big Cedar Industrial Park south of Cedar Rapids.  The amount of power required for these data centers is almost twenty times larger than the consumption of the ~60,000 homes in Cedar Rapids.

These two data center campuses, plus a third whose location is yet to be announced,  will increase Alliant Energy’s statewide load by approximately 60%, which is an unprecedented and sudden increase in demand for the utility.  While much of the energy to power the Cedar Rapids data centers will be supplied by Alliant Energy’s new and large investments in wind and solar, a substantial portion will be supplied by several new natural gas-fired power plants.  As noted in the previous section, the dramatic increase in natural gas consumption for electricity generation has the potential to drive up the cost of home heating fuel as well as the retail cost of electricity for all ratepayers.

Pollution Concerns

Crypto mining and hyperscale data centers raise air pollution concerns primarily through their electricity use. While Iowa leads the nation in per capita energy consumption from renewable sources, as we have seen, fossil fuel power plants will be key to powering data mining and data processing in the future. These fossil fuel power plants (and the diesel-fueled back up generators on site) emit large amounts of emissions in the form of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter.

Recently, Google and Amazon released their annual sustainability reports, which reveal large increases in their energy use and climate pollution. Google’s greenhouse gas pollution grew by 18% in 2025, and Amazon’s grew by 16%. Microsoft led the pack, however, with a 25% increase year-over-year. These emissions contribute to climate change as well as poor air quality in the form of smog, which can worsen respiratory and cardiovascular health, particularly for nearby communities. 

As noted above, most hyperscale data centers also rely on water-intensive cooling systems, which can strain local water supplies and discharge heated water back into rivers or treatment systems. This “thermal pollution” can harm aquatic ecosystems by reducing oxygen levels and altering habitats. In addition, the treatment chemicals used in cooling systems can pose risks if not properly managed.

Noise pollution is a frequent complaint near both crypto mining operations and hyperscale data centers. These facilities rely on large numbers of cooling fans, ventilation systems, and backup generators, all of which can run continuously. Crypto mines in particular are often described as producing a constant “industrial hum,” sometimes compared to a jet engine at a distance. When facilities are located near residential areas, this round-the-clock noise can disrupt sleep and reduce quality of life.

Light pollution is another issue, especially for large data center campuses. These sites typically operate 24/7 and require extensive outdoor lighting for security and safety, including high-intensity floodlights and illuminated buildings. This can brighten the night sky, disrupt nearby residents, and interfere with wildlife that depend on natural light cycles. In rural areas of Iowa and similar states, where ambient light levels are typically low, the visual impact can be startling.

Finally, there are growing concerns about electronic waste and backup power systems. Both crypto mining rigs and data center servers have relatively short 2-5 year lifespans, leading to large volumes of discarded electronic equipment that can contain hazardous materials if not recycled properly. 

Natural Gas Equipment Infrastructure Concerns

A recent report from Wood Mackenzie finds that rising electricity demand—driven largely by data centers—is creating a major mismatch between supply and demand in the gas turbine market. This imbalance is expected to push prices higher through at least 2027, with turbine costs projected to reach about $600 per kilowatt by then—nearly triple 2019 levels. Because gas turbines account for roughly 20–30% of the total cost of combined-cycle power plants—and an even larger share for simple-cycle plants—they are the single biggest factor driving the overall cost of building new gas-fired power facilities.

This is not only a concern in Iowa.  Natural gas plants already generate the largest proportion of electricity in the U.S., and the cost of the fuel has an outsized influence on electricity prices. Now, according to Global Energy Monitor, the U.S. leads the world in the amount of gas-fired power capacity in development. If all of the projects are built, they will increase U.S. gas-fired generation capacity by 50%, and with it, a concomitant increase in the consumption of natural gas, its related greenhouse gas emissions, and electricity prices.  

Transmission Infrastructure Concerns

The rapid expansion of data centers in Iowa has also sparked significant concern regarding the massive transmission infrastructure investments required to support them. Critics and consumer advocates worry that these "single-purpose" infrastructure projects—often involving high-voltage transmission lines and substation upgrades—may lead to cost-shifting, where the financial burden of the buildout is passed on to residential and small-business ratepayers. While utilities often argue these upgrades improve the grid for everyone, everyday Iowans risk being "on the hook" for infrastructure that primarily serves trillion-dollar corporations.

There is also a growing concern about “overbuilding” and the long-term risk of stranded assets. If market conditions change or a data center project is downsized or abandoned, the costs of those permanent transmission lines (and related power plants) could remain baked into the utility’s rate base for decades. A bill introduced in the Iowa House of Representatives in 2026 (HF 2690) would have required utilities to create separate, transparent rate classes for data centers to ensure they pay their fair share of the specific infrastructure they necessitate. Unfortunately, the bill failed to get to the floor for a vote.

Another set of concerns related to transmission infrastructure investments revolves around public use and eminent domain. As utilities petition the Iowa Utilities Commission (IUC) for new transmission franchises, they face increased resistance from landowners who argue that lines built specifically to power a private data center do not meet the legal threshold of a "public use." This has led to high-profile legal battles over the right-of-way, with residents challenging whether the state should allow the seizure of private property or the use of public road rights-of-way for projects that primarily facilitate private industrial growth rather than general grid reliability.

Finally, the sheer speed of development is creating a planning bottleneck for the state’s energy grid. Regional grid operators like the Midwest Independent System Operator (MISO) are struggling to balance the influx of data center loads with the retirement of older power plants and the integration of intermittent renewable energy. Critics point out that while Iowa leads in wind energy production, the transmission infrastructure needed to move that energy to data centers often lags behind. This creates a risk of grid congestion, which can drive up wholesale electricity prices for all consumers, effectively forcing the public to subsidize the high-reliability power requirements of the tech industry.

Sources: 

• _{Axios, Iowa gives millions in data center tax breaks, Jun 10, 2025.}
• _{Baxtel, Iowa Data Center Overview.}
• _{Berkeley Lab, Berkeley Lab Report Evaluates Increase in Electricity Demand from Data Centers, Jan 15, 2025.}
• _{Control Associates, Water Use and Regulation in Data Centers: Preparing for the 2026 Standard, Nov 22, 2025}
• _{Data Center Coalition, Economic contributions of U.S. data centers, 2017-2023, 2025.}
• _{DataCenters.com, Iowa’s $150M Annual Tax Incentives for Data Centers: The Midwest’s Bid for Digital Dominance, Jul 14, 2025.}
• _{Fortune Business Insights: E-waste Management Market Size & Forecast (2024-2034).}
• _{Good Jobs First, Cloudy with a Loss of Spending Control: How Data Centers Are Endangering State Budgets, Apr 2025.}
• _{Google Data Centers, Council Bluffs.}
• _{Grow Clinton, Data Center Development Benefits.}
• _{Harvard Kennedy School, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, AI, Data Centers, and the U.S. Electric Grid: A Watershed Moment, Feb 10 2026.}
• _{Iowa Geological Survey, Iowa needs a plan for using its precious groundwater, Feb 22, 2024.}
• _{Iowa Public Radio, Lawmakers look to regulate utility use by data centers, Feb 17, 2026.}
• _{Lincoln Institute of Land Policy: Data Drain: The Land and Water Impacts of the AI Boom, Oct 17, 2025.}
• _{McKinsey, Keeping cool in the data age: A clear business case is emerging for liquid cooling in data centers, Sep 24, 2025.}
• _{Nodiens Market Research Institute: Mining the Future: Bitcoin's Carbon Footprint, Mar 2025.}
• _{Nuclear Regulatory Commission, [Docket No. 50–331], Nuclear Management Company, LLC; Duane Arnold Energy Center Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact Related to a Proposed License Amendment To Increase the Maximum Rated Thermal Power Level, Nov 2, 2001.}
• _{PBS NewsHour, How AI is helping researchers develop antibiotics to fight drug-resistant infections, May 27, 2026.}
• _{PBS Terra, We Saw What AI Data Centers Don't Want You to See, May 28, 2026.}
• _{The Daily Iowan, Cedar Rapids data centers ignite concern from energy advocates, excitement from officials, Dec 9, 2025.}
• _{U.S. Congressional Research Service, Data Centers and Their Energy Consumption: Frequently Asked Questions, Jan 23, 2026.}

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Data centers are being built across the country. They require massive amounts of electricity and, when they use evaporative cooling, they use large quantities of water. Data center buildings are extremely large and cost billions to build. QTS and Google are building data centers in Cedar Rapids, and Google plans to build data centers just outside of Cedar Rapids near Palo, Iowa. This article covers these projects in Linn County and quantifies their impacts on electricity, water, and emissions.

How many data centers are currently planned in Linn County?

There are 18 data centers currently planned in Linn County to be built on three large hyper-scale campuses. In Cedar Rapids, there are three QTS data centers currently under construction with four more planned, and there is one Google data center under construction with four more planned, for a total of 12 data centers in Cedar Rapids.

Six additional Google data centers are planned to be built near the Duane Arnold Energy Center, a soon-to-be-reopened 615 MW nuclear plant. The re-opening of the nuclear plant depends on approval by the Nuclear Regulatory Committee. The approval process is currently underway. Google has a power purchase agreement in place to use 92% (565 MW) of the electricity generated by the nuclear plant for its data centers. CIPCO, the central Iowa rural electric cooperative, has an agreement to purchase the remaining 8% (50 MW).

These six additional Google data centers were originally planned to be constructed under the Linn County data center ordinance (discussed below). Now, Google is working with the City of Palo, Iowa, requesting Palo to annex the land on which the Google data centers will be built, so that a Palo data center ordinance, with more lenient provisions than Linn County’s ordinance, will be used.

^{QTS data center in Cedar Rapids under construction (Photo: QTS Data Centers)}

How much land will be used to build the 18 data centers?

The 18 data centers are being built on 1,571 acres of land. The QTS Cedar Rapids data centers are being built on 612 acres. The Google Cedar Rapids data centers are being built on 414 acres. The six Google data centers that will be built near the Duane Arnold Energy Center will be built on 545 acres. Sufficient land is available on the two Cedar Rapids data center campuses to build up to eight more buildings. Only six buildings can be housed on the Palo area site.

Nationwide public objections to data centers have resulted in data center requests being denied and data center moratoriums being put in place. That leaves data center operators seeking other viable locations which may result in additional data centers in Cedar Rapids and Linn County.

How large are the data center buildings, and what will they contain?

Over 8,500 construction workers are building the 3 QTS data centers. The buildings are huge. The first QTS data center building in Cedar Rapids contains 1.2 million square feet, which is roughly 28 acres under a single roof. These immense buildings are filled with incredible quantities of computing, memory, communications and electronic storage components that consume massive quantities of energy and require extensive cooling so the components do not sustain damage from heat. Wiring and cooling infrastructure inside and outside the buildings is structured with a density that allows it to service every component rack in the building. The 1.2 million square feet building can house over 100,000 AI chips, along with tens of thousands of central processing units and data processing units.

How much electricity will the data centers need?

The data centers will require multiples of the amount of electricity currently consumed in Linn County. The 1.2 million square feet QTS data center will consume 180 megawatts (MW) of power around the clock, equal to 1.57 billion kilowatt hours of electricity annually. The processing components can run for days to even weeks at a time, depending on the specific learning or problem solving being performed.

Just two 180 MW data centers will consume 96% of the power used by every residential, commercial, and industrial site in Linn County in 2023, nearly doubling electricity consumption in Linn County. If all 12 Cedar Rapids and six Palo area data centers are built, projections indicate their electricity consumption will be roughly 1,800 MW, equal to 15.7 billion kilowatt hours of electricity annually, 4.8 times the 2023 total Linn County electricity consumption.

How will the data centers cool the electronic components in the buildings?

Data centers use either closed loop cooling or evaporative cooling. The QTS data centers are being built with closed loop cooling systems. These systems function like the engine cooling systems in gas-powered vehicles. Fluid circulates through the electronic components to cool them and then the hot fluid runs through a radiator that uses air to cool it down. Large radiators are constructed right along the outside of the QTS buildings. As long as the outside air temperature is below 55 degrees Fahrenheit, air cooling, facilitated by fans, is adequate. Between 55 degrees Fahrenheit and 70 degrees Fahrenheit, air cooling and electric chiller systems work together. At temperatures higher than 70 degrees Fahrenheit, electric chiller systems perform all the cooling. These electric chiller systems can increase power consumption for a given data center building by 10% to 30%.

The Google data centers use cold air, when it’s available, and water (evaporative cooling systems) to cool their data centers. Google’s initial data center in Cedar Rapids is projected to use between 200,000 and 1 million gallons of water per day, depending on the season of the year. The proposed six Palo Google data centers are projected to need up to 12 million gallons of water a day when outside temperatures are high.

Is there sufficient water in Linn County to handle the water needs of the data centers?

Data centers using water cooling will significantly increase water consumption in Linn County. As a point of reference, Linn County uses an average of roughly 60 million gallons of water a day. Water usage peaks during hot, dry stretches, and pushes Cedar Rapids water use up by 13 to 17 million gallons a day. The lowest recorded flow of the Cedar River was 223 million gallons per day. During the 2012 drought, when the Cedar River flow was 21% of its normal average, Cedar Rapids horizontal collector well levels dropped nearly 36 feet, straining the city’s ability to pump water at normal rates.

The Jordan Aquifer has dropped significantly over the last century and the Silurian-Devonian aquifer dropped over a hundred feet when the City of Cedar Rapids was pumping large quantities of water from it decades ago. Pumping from the Silurian-Devonian aquifer was shifted to the Cedar Rapids alluvial well fields, enabling the aquifer to stabilize and recover somewhat.

Why do AI data centers need such huge buildings with such massive power and cooling requirements?

The hundreds of thousands of processors are setup to work collaboratively, all able to read and write to the same massive memory bank, using photons to move data almost instantaneously from the processors to the memory bank and from the memory bank to the processors. Software is used to structure and train this artificial brain, generally, or in specific areas, like physics, chemistry or medicine.

There are also AI management models that can evaluate a complex problem and assign aspects of it to specialty artificial intelligence models, like a physics AI model. Then, the AI management model receives results and then further assigns aspects of the problem to other appropriate AI models. Because of the need for speed in sending and receiving data, all the specialty AI models and AI management models work effectively when they are all in the same building, as close together as possible.

When these AI general and specific models are extensively trained and available, a company can enter into an agreement to use these models. Typically, a company, for example a pharmaceutical firm, owns and controls massive quantities of proprietary information and their first step in using the AI models is to extend their training by providing the AI models with their proprietary information that is carefully structured and organized. Then the company uses the fully trained AI models to solve complex problems, for example, identifying new medical treatments for specific illnesses.

Complex problems using multiple AI models can run for weeks before producing a result. The AI models can run thousands or millions of simulations to test solutions and solutions can be passed from one specialty AI model to another to more effectively and efficiently explore options and the viability of those options.

Once the result is received, a company completely owns that result, as well as everything the AI models learned while performing the research. These companies make certain that no one else is able to access the resolution to the problem and all that was learned in resolving the problem. They continue to use the now enhanced AI models with everything the AI models learned when solving the problem. They also provide the AI models with all the feedback that is gained from testing the solution and applying it in real life. The AI model gets smarter as a result, enabling the company to solve ever more complex problems.

The companies that quickly employ AI effectively and provide it with continuous feedback to gain additional knowledge, understanding and capabilities, will rapidly move ahead of the competition. Some AI models are linked to robotically controlled laboratories enabling AI to carry out experiments to produce substances or materials while continuously monitoring results.

How did the Linn County data center ordinance address water consumption?

It appears one of the primary reasons Google asked the City of Palo to annex the Google data center land and use a Palo ordinance to permit development of their data centers was to avoid the Linn County ordinance comprehensive water study that was required prior to evaluation of the data centers by the Supervisors. Google also wanted to avoid entering into the Water Use Agreement that was also required by the Linn County data center ordinance.

Linn County coordinated its efforts to protect the citizens of Linn County from the potential negative impacts of excessive water use by working with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) that has final authority over water use permits. Linn County planned to do a comprehensive $500,000 water study, funded by Google, that would be available to the public and provided to the Iowa DNR. Linn County’s data center ordinance also required continuous public reports of water use from Google to enable improved monitoring and control of water use.

Here are the key water use provisions of the Linn County data center ordinance:

Water Supply and Sustainability Review
Approval for large-scale data center projects shall be conditioned on the applicant demonstrating there is sufficient reliable water supply to meet all projected water demands without undue adverse impacts on existing users, aquifers, or watersheds. To demonstrate this, the applicant must comply with the following requirements:

1. As part of any application for rezoning, special use permit, or other discretionary land use approval for a data center, the applicant shall submit a Water Study. The purpose of this plan is to demonstrate, at a planning-level, that sufficient water resources are available to support the proposed use without causing undue adverse impacts to existing water users, groundwater resources, or surface water systems. The plan shall describe the proposed water source(s), anticipated ranges of water demand, assumptions regarding cooling technologies, efficiency measures, system reliability considerations, and general contingency approaches for water supply interruptions or emergencies. The plan shall be prepared by a qualified professional and shall contain sufficient information to allow the County, reviewing bodies, and the public to understand and evaluate the potential water impacts of the proposed use.
2. Prior to issuance of any building permit for a data center, the applicant shall enter into a Water Use Agreement with Linn County. The purpose of the Water Use Agreement is to govern ongoing coordination between the applicant and the County regarding water use during operation of the facility. The agreement shall address, at a minimum, water use monitoring, reporting frequency, data sharing protocols, and verification of compliance with applicable permits and approvals. The agreement may also include provisions addressing response procedures during periods of water supply constraint, drought, emergency conditions, or other circumstances in which water use reductions or operational adjustments may be necessary to protect public health, safety, or existing water users. The Water Use Agreement may include additional terms related to adaptive management, mitigation measures, and enforcement as determined appropriate by the County and Applicant. The Water Use Agreement shall also require the Applicant to demonstrate coordination with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) regarding applicable water use permits, interference mitigation procedures, monitoring obligations, and compliance procedures.

The re-opening of the Duane Arnold Energy Center nuclear plant will also increase water use, as will the proposed 720 MW Morgan Valley gas-powered electric generating plant. These additional factors all increase the value of requiring a comprehensive water use study as well as a water use agreement.

Did Linn County require an electric consumption study in its gas-fired generating plant ordinance?

The Iowa Utility Commission manages investor-owned utilities: Alliant Energy and MidAmerican Energy. In the same way that Linn County coordinated with the Iowa DNR to require a water use study and a water use agreement to enable public transparency and ongoing management of water use, Linn County was requested, through public comment, to require an electricity consumption study as a provision of its gas-fired electric generating plant ordinance. The request was not addressed. Here is the request:

The applicant must demonstrate that the proposed project aligns with the Linn County Comprehensive Plan and provides reliable electricity at the lowest lifetime cost without adverse impacts on existing consumers, transmission and distribution systems and natural gas supplies and pipelines. To demonstrate this, the applicant must comply with the following requirements:

1. An electric generation study is required that analyzes the current and future electric consumption of Linn County, identifies large users, particularly data centers, including their expected electric consumption, evaluates various means of generating the required electricity to include wind, solar, batteries, natural gas and small modular nuclear reactors, identifies the current levelized cost to produce each kWh over the life of each alternative generating source and includes the projected cost of fuel (natural gas, nuclear) over the life of the generating source with a listing of risks associated with the use of the fuel, includes the planned transmission, distribution and natural gas pipeline upgrades with alternative approaches to transmission, distribution and natural gas pipelines that can be used, and provides an estimate of the impact of the proposed new generating, transmission, distribution and natural gas pipeline facilities on the bills of current residential and commercial customers, particularly through fuel adjustment clauses that pass fuel spikes directly to consumers electric and gas bills. The study must also evaluate the potential of demand side management programs designed to reduce energy consumption and peak loads through the expansion of investment in the implementation of residential, commercial and industrial energy efficiency measures and load flexibility.

Linn County will evaluate the electric generation study with the objective of ensuring that the natural gas electric generating plant is the lowest cost, lowest impact, lowest risk means of continuing to provide reliable energy. The Linn County Comprehensive Plan strongly favors demand-side management focused on energy efficiency, as it can eliminate the need for gas fired electric generation plants. The Linn County Comprehensive plan also strongly favors clean, renewable energy due to its low cost to implement, the speed at which it can be constructed, the fact that wind and solar do not require any water and there are no fuel costs.

Linn County, if it had adopted the electricity consumption study, would not have final authority to make a decision about a proposed gas-fired power plant in Linn County, as the Iowa Utility Commission holds that authority. However, Linn County would be able to provide significant additional transparency to its citizens and would be able to provide the information gained through the study to the Iowa Utility Commission. Linn County could also choose to intervene in the Iowa Utility Commission hearings that would be held to make a decision about gas fired electric generating plants and use the electricity consumption study as testimony in the proceeding.

How is Alliant Energy planning to meet the extreme electricity demands of the data centers?

The massive increase in electricity requirements, due to data centers, is being partially addressed by proposing gas-fired power plants across Iowa. Large wind and solar farms are also being proposed along with large battery electric storage systems. A 720 MW single-cycle, gas-fired electric generating plant has been proposed in Linn County, to be placed next to the Benton County line.

The following information is supplied from the Alliant Energy application to the Iowa Utilities Commission for the 720 MW Morgan Valley gas fired electric generating plant (GCU-2026-0002):

• The plant will run 1230 to 3950 hours a year. A year has 365 days X 24 hours = 8760 hours.
• That makes the percentage of time the plant will run from 14% (1230/8760) to 45% (3950/8760) a year.

^{Alliant Energy rendering of Morgan Valley single-cycle, gas-fired electric generating plant in Linn County. (Image: Alliant Energy)}

How will the 720 MW Morgan Valley plant affect natural gas consumption in Linn County?

The plant is expected to burn natural gas at a rate of 6,500-9,800 thousand cubic feet of natural gas per hour. This is equal to 6,500,000-9,800,000 cubic feet of natural gas per hour. The higher rate of natural gas consumption occurs when ambient temperatures are low (winter) and when CT inlet evaporative coolers are used when ambient temperatures are high (summer). The lower natural gas consumption rates occur in the spring and fall. The following simple calculation uses the low consumption range for fall and spring and the high consumption range for winter and summer multiplied by the projected hours of use in each season. A more precise calculation requires both weather data and detailed weather-based natural gas consumption information.

Annual consumption of natural gas will range between:

• 10,470 million cubic feet of natural gas
  480 hours X 6,500,000 cubic feet of natural gas per hour for fall and spring, plus 750 hours X 9,800,000 cubic feet of natural gas per hour for winter and summer;
  and
• 33,232 million cubic feet of natural gas
  1660 hours X 6,500,000 cubic feet of natural gas per hour for fall and spring, plus 2290 hours X 9,800,000 cubic feet of natural gas per hour for winter and summer.

In 2023, all of Linn County used 24,582 million cubic feet of natural gas.

(This information comes from the Linn County Sustainability and Resiliency Advisory Committee that developed the 2019 Linn County Greenhouse Gas Inventory and then gathered 2023 gas and electricity consumption information that was provided to the East Central Iowa Council of Governments for development of the Pathway Plan to lower greenhouse gas emissions in its six counties.)

This single plant, has the potential to increase Linn County natural gas consumption by 135%, more than doubling the amount of natural gas consumed by Linn County in 2023. (33,232 million / 24,582 million = 135%) Total natural gas consumed in Linn County would be 2.35 times as much as was consumed in 2023. ((33,232 million + 24,582 million) / 24,582 million = 2.35)

Using the highest range of operation is meaningful in this situation because of the massive electricity requirements of the data centers. If they are all built, data centers will increase 2023 Linn County electricity consumption by 479%. (1,800 million watts for all 18 data centers x 24 hours x 365 days) / (3,288 million kilowatt hours in 2023 for all of Linn County)

In addition to the dramatic increase in natural gas consumption and the potential effect it will have on natural gas prices over time, there is the impact the natural gas plant will have on greenhouse gas emissions in Linn County.

How will the increase in natural gas consumption affect heat trapping emissions in Linn County?

Linn County adopted a climate resolution with goals to reduce 2010 greenhouse gas emissions 45% by 2030 and to be carbon-neutral by 2050. The City of Cedar Rapids has the same goals.

Here are the greenhouse gas emission and sustainability goals of data center developers:

• QTS aims to procure 100% of its power from renewable energy sources by 2025.
• Google will operate its data centers and office campuses on 24/7 carbon-free energy by 2030, matching hourly electricity consumption with carbon-free energy sources.
• Microsoft aims to be carbon negative by 2030 and to power its global infrastructure entirely with renewable energy.
• META aims to achieve net-zero emissions across its entire value chain (Scope 1, 2, and 3) by 2030.

Here are Alliant Energy’s goals as stated in its Corporate Responsibility Report through 2024:

• Reduce emissions from utility operations by 50% from 2005 levels by 2030.
• Achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
• Eliminate coal by 2040.
• Reduce electric utility water supply by 75% from 2005 levels by 2030.

How have emissions changed in Linn County since 2010?

The Linn County 2019 Greenhouse Gas Inventory identified a 3.35% decrease in 2010 CO2e emissions by 2019. (CO2e stands for carbon dioxide equivalents. CO2e are heat-trapping gases, equivalent to greenhouse gases). These reductions were due to the conversion of electric generating plant coal-fired boilers to natural gas-fired boilers and the implementation of wind and solar power. 2010 CO2e emissions were 7.84 million metric tons and 2019 CO2e emissions were 7.58 million metric tons.

The East Central Iowa Council of Governments Pathway Plan Appendices, using a slightly different method for identifying greenhouse gas emissions data, showed 2019 Linn County CO2e emissions as 7.72 million metric tons and 2023 Linn County CO2e emissions as 6.44 million metric tons, a reduction of 17%. Since 2010, the emission reduction up to 2023 is roughly 17.9%. To achieve the CO2e 2030 emission reduction goal of 45%, an additional 27% reduction in CO2e is needed.

Using the high range of operation, how much will the 720 MW plant increase CO2e emissions?

The 720 MW plant will have a significant impact on CO2e emissions in Linn County. Based on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule (40 CFR Part 98, Subpart C) standard defaults for pipeline-quality natural gas, here are the CO2e emissions from burning 1000 CF of natural gas:

• In Kilograms: 54.50 kg of CO2e per 1,000 cubic feet (CF) of natural gas
• In Pounds: 120.14 lbs of CO2e per 1,000 cubic feet (CF) of natural gas

Using the high range consumption of natural gas by the 720 MW plant of 33,232 million cubic feet per year, the CO2e emissions are 3,992.5 million pounds or 1.811 million metric tons. (33,232,000,000 CF / 1000 CF) X 120.14 lbs = 3,992.5 million pounds of CO2e emissions.

Metric tons were used in all the greenhouse gas inventories mentioned previously. To convert 3,992.5 million pounds to metric tons, one metric ton is 2204.62 lbs. (3,992.5 million pounds / 2204.62 lbs) = 1.811 million metric tons of CO2e emissions annually using the high range of consumption by the 720 MW plant. That is a 28% increase in annual CO2e emissions. (1.811 million metric tons of CO2e emissions / 6.439 million metric tons of CO2e emissions in 2023 = 28%).

This occurs at the point when we need to reduce CO2e emissions an additional 27% by 2030. That puts us off course by 55%. Added to 2023 CO2e emissions, Linn County would have 8.25 million metric tons of CO2e, a figure 410,000 metric tons higher than 2010 Linn County emissions. This will affect all of us, but particularly our children and grandchildren, who will have to live with a more significantly disrupted and chaotic environment.

Is there a way to quantify CO2e emissions damages and what would they be for the 720 MW plant?

The Environmental Protection Agency spent years developing a financial model that takes into account the harm caused by each ton of CO2e over the decades ahead. The document is 176 pages in length. It takes into account only certain direct impacts of increased global heat, some of which are sea level rise, heat- and cold-related mortality and morbidity, labor supply, and energy consumption. It partially considers mortality and morbidity from extreme weather events, coastal land loss, agricultural production and a few other factors.

As these damages take place over decades, a discount rate is used to determine the present value of the damages. Using a high discount rate of 7% is equivalent to putting a low value on damages occurring in the future that our children and grandchildren will have to endure. Using a low discount rate of 2% puts a higher value on damages in the future that our children and grandchildren will have to endure.

$190 is the present value of damages from each metric ton of CO2e calculated using the 2% discount rate. $62 is the damage figure using the 7% discount rate. While the current administration has pushed this method of quantifying damages to the side, it remains a means of understanding how we will be affected by emissions that accumulate and have increasingly detrimental effects over time.

Using the high range emissions from the 720 MW power plant, 1.811 million metric tons of CO2e emissions annually, the $190 / metric ton in damages amounts to $344 million per year and the $62 / metric ton in damages amounts to $112 million per year.

Google is clearly interested in achieving its goal of using only carbon free energy. Re-starting the Duane Arnold Energy Center nuclear plant is expensive. Operating the nuclear plant is expensive. Alliant Energy bought out its power purchase agreement with the nuclear plant to save money on electricity
generation, and the nuclear plant was shut down.

Since Alliant Energy, Linn County, the City of Cedar Rapids and all the data centers share the same goal of using only emissions-free energy, it is essential that Alliant Energy identifies emission-free means of generating the power needed by the data centers. A gas-fired power plant is not acceptable.

What sort of incentives did Cedar Rapids offer Google and QTS?

Cedar Rapids granted QTS and Google 20 years of 70% property tax rebates and 20 years of 75% electric franchise fee rebates. The Corridor Business Journal stated that for QTS “Based upon the estimated increased value generated by the first two phases, city officials estimate that $1 billion in total property taxes could be generated over the applicable rebate periods with an estimated $529 million being rebated back to QTS.”

Given that just the 180 MW single QTS data center will consume 1,577 billion kilowatt hours annually running 24x7, the value of the 75% reduction in the electric franchise fee is significant. Large facilities like the first QTS data center utilize the Alliant Rider ICR (Individual Customer Rate). Under Rider ICR, Alliant Energy negotiates a confidential, long-term electric service agreement. The cost of the electricity is composed of multiple charges and riders, with estimates of the total costs divided by the total kilowatt hours consumed by data centers in the Midwest ranging from 5.5 cents to 7.5 cents per kilowatt hour. Using 6.5 cents per kilowatt hour, the 180 MW QTS 1,577 billion kilowatt hours used each year would cost a total of $102.5 million with a 4% franchise fee of $4.1 million and a 75% franchise fee rebate of $3.1 million annually. An estimate of the 75% franchise fee rebate for all the 12 data centers planned for Cedar Rapids is $20.5 million a year.

Is there a way to create accountability for data centers to add zero emissions from electricity use?

In a public comment period before the City of Cedar Rapids City Council, Mayor and City Manager, a request was made to create accountability for the data centers and Alliant Energy to keep emissions from increasing in Cedar Rapids and Linn County.

“Leverage the aligned emission reduction goals of Cedar Rapids, Linn County, Alliant Energy, QTS and Google, and require QTS and Google to add zero emissions to Cedar Rapids, Linn County and the surrounding 5 counties in order to receive their 75% reduction in franchise fees.”

There are additional sources of emissions that need to be taken into account. Natural gas extraction and transport leaks methane. Alliant Energy is implementing 94 MW of reciprocating internal combustion engines, running on natural gas, at the Prairie Creek plant in Cedar Rapids. Data centers typically have service level agreements in place that guarantee up to 99.999% availability, so backup power generation is placed on-site with sufficient fuel to cover a significant outage and contracts are in place to immediately supply additional fuel for the generators should the outage run long. On-site power generation is typically handled by large numbers of 2 MW to 3 MW diesel generators. To ensure on-site power generation functionality, regular tests of the generators are performed.

Conclusion

While data centers have significant economic benefits by creating large numbers of construction jobs, it is important that their impacts on water, electricity and emissions are understood and managed to the benefit of citizens. That will require our involvement as data centers submit building permit applications, and as gas-fired power plants, proposed to meet data center electricity requirements, submit applications for approval by the Iowa Utilities Commission and County Supervisors.

The Linn County data center ordinance is excellent and can be used as a reference for any city or county where a data center is being proposed. The proposed Morgan Valley gas-fired electric generating plant is controversial and there is expected to be a hearing at the Iowa Utilities Commission and before the Linn County Supervisors. The Iowa Utilities Commission docket for the Morgan Valley plant (GCU-2026-0002) will provide significant information relevant to other Iowa counties with proposed gas-fired electric generating plants. Linn County has a viable gas-fired electric generating plant ordinance that can be referenced.

The voice of every citizen is important and needs to be heard by County Supervisors, City Councils, Iowa legislators and the Iowa Utilities Commission and its Office of Consumer Advocacy to ensure citizens rights are at the forefront of every decision.

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This section summarizes the role and actions by the Iowa Utilities Commission (IUC) regarding its review and approval of utility contracts with large load customers like hyperscale data centers. It also identifies resources the IUC and its staff may wish to consult.

Data centers of all types are utterly dependent on the reliable delivery of massive amounts of electricity virtually every hour of the day.  In Iowa, nearly all of the largest existing and proposed data centers are served by two investor-owned utilities – Alliant Energy and MidAmerican Energy.

Both electric utilities are eager to serve new and existing large data centers because the sharp increase in sales typically result in higher corporate profits as well as the possibility of reducing costs for ratepayers by assigning a substantial portion of the utility’s operating costs to the new large energy users.  MidAmerican currently serves the vast majority of Iowa’s largest data centers, which have been attracted to Iowa, in part, by MidAmerican’s very low electricity rates as well as MidAmerican’s enormous investments in wind energy.  Over the last decade, Alliant Energy, which has considerably higher rates compared to MidAmerican Energy, has made large investments in wind, solar, and energy storage facilities while also developing large industrial parks to support large electricity users like data centers.

Individual Customer Rate Tariffs

The developers of data center facilities build them wherever they can get the best deal.  One of the key components is the cost of the electricity needed to power the facilities.  In order to compete nationally, MidAmerican Energy and Alliant Energy have secured permission from the Iowa Utilities Commission to offer Individual Customer Rates (ICR) to new large loads of a certain size.  These “tariffs” are similar but also differ in important ways.

Different Thresholds for Entry

The most significant difference between the two companies is how "large" a business must be to qualify. Alliant sets a high bar, requiring customers to have a demand of at least 25,000 kW (25 MW). They also require these businesses to be highly efficient, typically maintaining a load factor of at least 80%, or having the ability to shut down operations quickly if the power grid is stressed. MidAmerican Energy is more accessible to mid-sized industrial players, offering the rate to those with a demand of 15,000 kW (15 MW), or as little as 3,000 kW (3 MW) if the customer owns their own substation. 

How Bills are Calculated

The way these companies charge for power also follows two different philosophies. MidAmerican uses a more traditional "default" menu where prices change based on the season and the time of day. For example, their summer afternoon rates are significantly higher to reflect the peak demand for air conditioning. In contrast, Alliant uses a more complicated system that offers either a standard or negotiated demand rate as well as a an energy charge that may be based on IPL's fuel costs, a negotiated energy rate determined to be no less than the incremental costs the Company expects to incur serving the Customer's load, or a marginal energy price based on market prices in a MISO commercial pricing zone.

Protecting the Public

Because these are specialized, negotiated deals, both utilities have rules to protect other ratepayers. Alliant is required by the IUC to file annual reports proving that these large customers are paying enough to cover their own costs so that other customers are "held harmless." Both companies also include "Reactive Demand Charges," which are essentially fees for businesses that have inefficient electrical equipment that puts unnecessary strain on the utility's system.

Long-Term Commitments

Taking service under these rates isn't a short-term decision. Alliant requires a contract of at least five years and asks for a one-year heads-up before a company even starts using the rate.  MidAmerican has a ten-year contract minimum, which is better. If a business stops using as much power as they promised—dropping below the required thresholds for a full year—both utilities will eventually kick them off the special rate and move them back to a standard price plan. This ensures that these deep discounts are reserved only for the massive, consistent energy users for which they were intended.

IUC Review of ICR Tariffs

While certain provisions exist to protect other ratepayers from future cost increases, one of the biggest problems with these ICR tariffs is that the utilities have persuaded the IUC that the details of each contract are tantamount to trade secrets and thus must be strictly confidential. Until very recently, only the IUC and its staff together with the staff at the Iowa Office of the Consumer Advocate have had access to the confidential details.

Through April 2026, the IUC has approved two ICR proposals brought forward by Alliant Energy in separate dockets. The first was a contract with Vulpine Power LLC, the developer of Google’s hyperscale data center complex in the Big Cedar Industrial Park south of Cedar Rapids (TF-2025-0007). The second was a contract with QTS for its hyperscale data center complex, which will also be located in the Big Cedar Industrial Park (TF-2025-0047). Another proposal is expected soon. Alliant recently announced that it has secured an energy services agreement with QTS for a second hyperscale facility to be located in its Iowa service territory, and that Alliant will be seeking IUC approval of a third ICR contract in the first half of 2026.

The IUC developed an initial list of annual reporting requirements in the first ICR docket and refined them further in the second docket.  On April 28, 2026, the IUC issued its updated set of 16 annual reporting requirements — which it updated on August 11, 2026 — applicable to all current and future Alliant ICR customers. The following table summarizes these requirements in plain English.

Requirement #13 is the most significant new requirement. The annual scorecard must include a list of every Alliant generation resource with its age, MW capacity, MWh produced, and total annual cost; total transmission costs; all wholesale market electricity purchases and sales; and revenue data for every customer class — with each ICR data center customer shown both as part of the ICR class and individually. Alliant successfully resisted the original proposal to attribute specific power plants to specific data center customers, arguing that is technically impossible on a shared grid. This system-wide approach is the alternative the IUC accepted.

Resources for Iowa’s Regulators

What follows is a list of reports and studies that may be of assistance to the Iowa Utilities Commission and its staff as it continues its work regulating ICR tariffs and coping with the rapid growth of data centers in Iowa.

Clean Energy Group, Data Center Energy Accountability Initiative

Clean Energy Group works with regulators, policymakers, advocates, and community groups to ensure that they have the tools and information needed to evaluate the impacts of large-scale data center development and to advance strategies that protect the public interest as electricity demand grows.

Climate Xchange, Resources for Regulating Data Centers

During 2026, Climate XChange is releasing five toolkits describing state policies addressing data center impacts on water, electricity affordability and reliability, greenhouse gas emissions, tax and employment justice, and transparency concerns.

• • Water Impacts (April 1, 2026)
  • Electricity Affordability and Reliability (April 9, 2026)
  • Transparency and Accountability (May 14, 2026)

Earthjustice, Lawsuit Challenges FERC Approval of MISO Fast-Track Energy Plan, Nov 2025.

Earthjustice, NRDC, and Clean Wisconsin sued FERC over MISO’s plan to fast-track mostly gas-fired generation to meet data center demand, cutting ahead of clean energy projects and shifting costs to residential customers. Directly affects Iowa’s grid operator (MISO) and the resource mix serving Iowa data centers.

Georgetown Environmental Law Review, How Can Regulators Fight Back? Consumers Paying for Data Centers, Oct 6, 2025.

The article explores how the rapid expansion of AI-driven data centers is driving up electricity costs for residential consumers, who often subsidize the necessary infrastructure upgrades through traditional utility rate structures. To combat this, the author suggests that regulators implement targeted "clean transition tariffs" and stricter state-level legislation to ensure that data center developers bear their own costs and adhere to climate goals.

Great Plains Institute, Great Lakes Data Center Resource Hub

Navigate to the “Policies” tab and scroll down to “Tariffs” and “Regulation” sections.

Harvard Electricity Law Initiative, Extracting Profits from the Public: How Ratepayers Are Paying for Big Tech's Power, Mar 2025.

Detailed legal and regulatory analysis of how utility rate structures allow infrastructure costs to flow from data centers to residential customers. Explains the mechanics of how this happens and the regulatory pathways to fix it.

Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, Projected Data Center Growth Spurs PJM Capacity Prices by a Factor of 10, Jul 2025.

Near-tenfold increase in PJM capacity market prices driven primarily by data center demand. Iowa is in MISO, but the dynamics are analogous. The IEEFA methodology for attributing capacity cost increases to data center load is directly relevant to Iowa ICR marginal cost proceedings.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Electricity Rate Designs for Large Loads: Evolving Practices and Opportunities 2026 Update.

This report presents a series of tariff design elements that seek to mitigate utility financial, planning, and operational risks, as well as support broader power system goals and objectives. They are organized to provide utilities, regulators, customers and other stakeholders with an understanding of common design elements and how prevalent they are in practice. The authors analyzed a sample of 55 tariffs derived from Halcyon’s Large Load Tariff Tracker as of March 2026 and supplemented the information with independent research to identify key large load tariff design elements.

NARUC, Load Growth Information Hub for State Regulators

NARUC provides commissions with timely and relevant resources and activities, including reports, technical papers, and virtual trainings aimed at supporting utility regulators as they navigate the challenges posed by load growth due to electrification efforts, a significant increase in domestic manufacturing, and the growth in data centers.

State Energy & Environmental Impact Center, Data Centers: Straining the Grid and Your Wallet, Oct 2025.

Concise overview of grid reliability risks and consumer cost issues, written for state policymakers and attorneys general. Covers stranded asset risk (when data centers leave, ratepayers are left holding the tab for unneeded infrastructure).

Union of Concerned Scientists, Data Centers Are Already Increasing Your Energy Bills, Oct 2025.

Utilities assigned $4.3 billion in data center connection costs to other ratepayers in 2024 across seven mid-Atlantic states. The study documents 150+ local transmission projects built solely to connect data centers. Methodologically transparent; directly applicable to Iowa ICR marginal cost proceedings.

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This section provides links to resources produced by advocacy groups concerned about the impact of data centers on communities. It also provides links to moratoriums and ordinances local governments in Iowa have used to address the challenges posed by data centers. Finally, the section includes links to media coverage, academic articles, and various reports produced by think tanks as well as studies by government agencies.

As we noted on the landing page of this Iowa Data Center Resource Hub, both candidates in the race for Iowa Governor, Rob Sand [D] and Zach Lahn [R], have issued policy statements addressing rising concerns about data centers in Iowa.

The backlash to data centers is mounting across the United States. In July 2026, New York became the first state to place a moratorium of new data centers that are 50 megawatts or larger.  Governor Hochul’s moratorium, which is expected to last approximately one year, will be lifted once the state finalizes an environmental review process for data centers.

In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott, who once called Texas the “epicenter” of artificial intelligence development, has also put new data centers on hold–perhaps because he is up for reelection in November. He has ordered the state’s power regulators and main grid managers to complete an audit of data centers seeking to connect to the Texas grid. Developers will have to disclose any tax incentives they benefit from, their water and energy use, their physical footprint on the land, their plans for future energy use, and their owners. Governor Abbot has emphasized that “[a]ny data center project that fails to comply … must be denied.”

Closer to Iowa, the Governor of Nebraska, Jim Pillen, has signed LB1261 which requires that data centers bring their own behind-the-meter electricity generation. A recently signed executive order formally pauses data center development and establishes a task force to draft legislation that provides further protections when it comes to data centers while also imposing additional taxes.

According to Heatmap, a subscription service used by data center developers and opponents alike, at least seven in 10 Americans now oppose a data center being built near their home. At least $260 billion of data center investments were canceled in 2026 after sustained local opposition. About half of the total was canceled in the three months ending on September 30.

This trend is being felt in the Midwest. Recently, local residents opposed the siting of a hyperscale data center near Madison, Wisconsin. As a result, the developer announced that it had signed an energy supply agreement with Interstate Power and Light Company (dba Alliant Energy) and would site the facility somewhere in Alliant’s Iowa service territory.

As noted in previous sections of this webpage, the expansion of crypto mining and large-scale data centers has become a significant issue in Iowa, particularly regarding water usage, energy costs, and noise pollution.  This section provides links to resources for concerned citizens – especially in Iowa.

Advocacy Groups

• ACEEE, Energy Efficiency Can Address Surging Electricity Needs at Half the Cost of Gas Plants, Feb 4, 2026.
• Clean Energy Group, Data Center Resource Guide and Fact Sheet: AI, Data Centers, and Energy, August 2026.
• Data Center Advocacy Hub
  • Registration is required to access this website, which contains a comprehensive set of resources.
  • Note: The US Data Center Advocacy Hub (Hub) and ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability USA (ICLEI USA) have launched a new partnership focused on community advocates, funders, and local officials to drive positive sustainability and affordability outcomes when hyperscale data centers are proposed in U.S. communities. Beginning in September and continuing through the remainder of 2026, the Hub and ICLEI USA will organize a series of educational webinars featuring experts on local government authorities related to data centers, and showcasing challenges, solutions, and lessons learned from local leaders in the public sector and civil society. The first webinar in the series, "Data Centers and Local Decision Making 101: What Community Advocates and Local Officials Need to Know About Each Other’s Approaches and Constraints," will feature key leaders from Data Center Alley in Northern Virginia. Click here to register and save your spot. Like all Hub webinars, attendance at this learning session is limited to Hub members.
• DataCenterTracker.org: Data Center Responses
  • This is an initiative launched by the FracTracker Alliance in July 2025 to monitor the rapid, often opaque, expansion of AI and data center infrastructure across the United States. The tool was developed to provide open-access, facility-level data for community advocacy, tracking, and research, following earlier work by the alliance in mapping cryptocurrency operations. The link above takes you directly to activity in Iowa.
• Data Center Watch
  • Data Center Watch is a research project that tracks grassroots opposition to data center development across the United States. Its research is objective, fact-based, and nonpartisan.
• Environmental Integrity Project, The Power Behind AI: Wave of Dirty Gas Power Plants Planned for Data Centers, (July 2026)
  • This report focuses on current plans to build 74 natural gas-fired power plants across the U.S. to provide energy for the rapidly growing data center industry.

• Great Plains Institute, Great Lakes Data Center Resource Hub
  • Navigate to the “Policies” tab and then scroll down to “Ordinance.”
• Iowa Environmental Council
  • Crypto Currency Fact Sheet (Aug 2024)
  • Iowa Electric Generation: Condition of the State 2025
• AINow, North Star Data Center Policy Tool Kit
  • This policy toolkit is primarily geared toward stopping, slowing, and restricting rampant data center development in the US at the local and state level.
• National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, Data Center Principles
  • A series of five principles to guide rural electric cooperatives as they consider applications for electric service from data centers of various sizes and to assure REC ratepayers that their interests will be paramount in these deliberations.
• PoweredByWho, Fight-Back Toolkit
  • An independent project tracking America's data-center boom — the projects, the politicians, the rates, and the receipts.
• Sierra Club, Iowa Chapter, Protect Your Community: Data Center Ordinances, August 2026.
  • A set of 26 slides focusing on data center development in Iowa and how Iowa counties and communities are developing ordinances to address water and energy concerns.
• Union of Concerned Scientists, Data Center Power Play, Jan 21, 2026
  • This article argues that policymakers and regulators at every level of governance must use their authority—and standing—to ensure data centers are powered by clean energy and protect ratepayers by requiring data center operators to pay their fair share of new electricity costs.

Local Government

The Hubbell Environmental Law Initiative at the University of Iowa College of Law recently published an Iowa Data Center Decision Tool for Counties, Cities, Communities. The resource, which was developed in partnership with the Tippie College of Business Social Impact Community, is a conversation starter and risk management resource. It is an objective resource to help communities prepare for data center discussions by identifying key questions before decisions are made.

Because there is little current statewide regulation of crypto-mining and data center development in Iowa, most battles are fought at the County Board of Supervisors or City Council levels through moratoria and zoning laws. DataCenterTracker.org is a valuable tool to explore developments in your area. (Click on “Filters” and select “Iowa”)

To date, the following counties have passed moratoria of varying lengths and foci: Clarke, Clayton, Clinton, Dickinson, Dubuque, Henry, Jackson, Johnson, Jones, Lee, Linn, Louisa, Marshall, Mitchell, Sioux, Tama, Winneshiek, and Woodbury counties. On June 15, 2026 the Council Bluffs City Council voted unanimously to deny a proposed one-year data center moratorium, opting for a wastewater-management plan instead.

To date, the following counties have passed ordinances or zoning restrictions:  Allamakee, Jones, Linn, Palo, and Story counties. In addition, Clinton, Jefferson, Johnson, Louisa, and Winnebago counties are actively considering an ordinance or zoning restriction. In September, 2026, Hancock County’s Planning & Zoning Commission unanimously rejected a request to rezone 724 acres near Garner for a potential data center. On September 21, 2026, the Decorah City Council voted unanimously to advance an ordinance that would allow data centers in the city’s M-3 General Industrial District while imposing requirements for their location, utility use, noise, emergency preparedness and eventual removal.

Readers are encouraged to study Clinton County's draft ordinance and Linn County’s approved ordinance on data centers, as well as Linn County’s recent decision to impose an 18-month moratorium on new data center development. In the moratorium, the Linn County Board of Supervisors directed staff to consider allowing data centers as accessories to nuclear plants. Iowa’s only nuclear power plant is located near Palo.

See the following links to access many of these materials:

• County Moratoria
• County Ordinances

Local government leaders may also find very helpful a series of Resources for Regulating Data Centers that are being published by Climate Xchange over the course of 2026. To date, the following toolkits have been published:

• Water Impacts (April 1, 2026)
• Electricity Affordability and Reliability (April 9, 2026)
• Transparency and Accountability (May 14, 2026)

Each of these toolkits identify best practices and provide links to examples in local ordinances or state legislation.  The “Transparency and Accountability” toolkit may be especially valuable to local governments.  It includes some of the following best practices and related policy tools:

• Requiring disclosure of economic, environmental, and community impacts during both the initial applications for permits (e.g., Georgia HB 528) and license renewal processes (e.g., New York A 9086). 
• Requiring data centers to notify impacted communities of upcoming projects and the results from any studies conducted (e.g., Virginia SB 1046). Additionally, ensuring that there is ample time for public participation prior to construction (e.g., New York A 9086). 
• Barring the use of non-disclosure agreements (e.g., Michigan HB 5399) or only allowing for limited use, such as the inclusion of sunshine provisions (e.g., NDA Policy in Pima County, Arizona). 
• Requiring states and data centers to disclose how much money is received from subsidy programs, alongside facility-specific economic and labor impacts to local communities and the state (e.g., Nevada NRS 231.0685).

Another valuable resource for local governments is this blog post from the Sabin Center at Columbia University, Data Center Regulation: What Local Governments Should Know about Large-Load Tariffs and Clean Transition Tariffs. While much of this article focuses on the need for state legislators and regulators to adopt large load tariffs, it also explains why it is vital for local governments to become actively engaged in these discussions.

Media Coverage

The Atlantic, The Great Data-Center Rebellion: Could a new populist movement help save American democracy? (November 2026)

Business Record, Iowa communities grapple with regulating data centers as development spreads, September 11, 2026.

Corridor Business Journal (Cedar Rapids) Data Center Archives

Daily Gate City (Keokuk), Supervisors put the brakes on new data centers with year-long moratorium, June 18, 2026.

Des Moines Register (Paywall)

• Intense training to begin for reopening of Duane Arnold nuclear plant, April 21, 2026.
• Iowa House passes sales tax break for nuclear facility restart, April 16, 2026.
• Opinion: Data centers offer Iowa no future worth having, April 12, 2026.
• Opinion: Data centers build a high-tech backbone for Iowa, April 6, 2026.
• GOP governor candidate Zach Lahn wants data centers to pay more taxes, April 6, 2026.
• Opinion: Linn County welcomes data centers, if they follow the rules, March 1, 2026.

Fort Madison Daily Democrat

• Supervisors to vote on data center moratorium in Lee County, June 15, 2026.
• Henry County places moratorium on AI data centers, data mines and battery storage facilities from locating in county, May 16, 2026.

The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, Paywall) Data Center Archives

Heatmap

This relatively new climate news organization provides “deep reporting on emerging decarbonization trends, like electric vehicles, clean hydrogen, and carbon capture, in addition to climate change and its impact on our economy, politics, and society.” The organization also offers a subscription service, Heatmap Pro, which it claims “is the premier clean energy & data center platform designed to help users build community-supported projects.”

A recent webinar sponsored by Heatmap Labs and Orennia takes a close look at the evolving data center landscape in 2026, including where projects are moving forward, where opposition is emerging, and how sentiment, permitting risk, and power market dynamics are influencing siting and investment decisions.

Inside Climate News:

• Google’s Response to an Iowa County’s New Data Center Requirements? Annex the Land, March 4, 2026.
• Facing Its Third Data Center, an Iowa County Rolls Out Extensive Zoning Rules, March 1, 2026.
• Google Data Centers Will Bring Nuclear Power Back To Tornado Country, December 6, 2025.
• Clean Energy Brought Data Centers to Iowa. The Big Beautiful Bill Could Change That, July 28, 2025.

Institute for Local Self-Reliance, The Policies Communities Need to Confront the AI Data Center Race, May 19,2026.

Iowa Capital Dispatch, Data Center Effects on Energy Costs (Archive)

Iowa News Now

• Woodbury County joins growing list of Iowa counties pausing data center development, June 24, 2026.
• Fairfax residents push back on proposed Alliant Energy plant, April 26, 2026.

Iowa Public Policy Dude (Blog by Chuck Isenhart, former member of the Iowa House of Representatives), Data centers all the rage – Outrage, that is, July 17, 2026. 

Iowa Public Radio, Data Centers (Archive)

KCRG, Residents in Linn and Benton counties sign petition against Alliant Energy’s natural gas power plant, April 18, 2026.

KIWA, Northern Iowa County Panel Becomes Latest To Reject Call For Data Center, September 13, 2026.

Pen City Current, [Lee] County halts any new data center plans for one year, June 16, 2026.

The Hawk Eye, Louisa County approves [18-month] data center moratorium, July 9, 2026.

The New York Times, I Expected Tech Fatalism. Americans Are Putting Up a Remarkable Fight Instead, by David Wallace-Wells, August 31, 2026.

Times-Republican, [Marshalltown City] Council votes down data center moratorium, June 23, 2026.

Wisconsin Public Radio, Wisconsin regulators approve rates for Meta’s Beaver Dam data center, with sharp criticism, May 7, 2026.

WQAD8, Clinton, Iowa City Council combs through data center ordinance, September 1, 2026.

Think Tank, Government, and International Agency Reports

Environmental and Energy Study Institute, Data Centers and Water Consumption, June 25, 2025.

An accessible, well-cited overview of direct and indirect water use. U.S. data centers consumed an estimated 211 billion gallons of water indirectly in 2023 alone. Covers cooling technologies and policy levers. Good entry point for community members.

Georgia Tech, Georgia Data Center Ordinance Hub.

This hub tracks 15 regulatory topics commonly addressed in data center ordinances, ranging from site planning and building design to power infrastructure, environmental protections, and facility decommissioning. While the site is designed primarily for communities in Georgia, the resources in the hub are quite useful to policymakers in Iowa. 

International Energy Agency, Energy and AI, April 10, 2025.

This report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) is based on new global and regional modelling and datasets, as well as extensive consultation with governments and regulators, the tech sector, the energy industry and international experts. It includes projections for how much electricity AI could consume over the next decade, as well as which energy sources are set to help meet it. It also analyses what the uptake of AI could mean for energy security, emissions, innovation and affordability.

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, Understanding Data Center Development, August 26, 2026.

This two-page resource provides links to methods for tracking data centers, data center toolkits from around the nation, and community groups working on data center issues.

Pew Research Center, What we know about energy use at U.S. data centers amid the AI boom, October 24, 2025.

Accessible synthesis \on consumer-facing rate impacts. One study estimates data centers could raise the average U.S. electricity bill 8% by 2030, exceeding 25% in high-demand markets.

Wingra Engineering, Evaluating Air Quality Impacts of Diesel Generators at Data Centers, July 16, 2026.

The purpose of this document is to help you understand and estimate air quality impacts due to back-up emergency generators at AI data centers. This document can be used to prepare public comments on proposed air pollution control permits for AI data centers. It can also be used to support comments filed with state and local agencies.

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, What do Global Warming’s Six Americas think about data centers?, August 25, 2026.

Podcasts, Videos, and Webinars

60 Minutes, Data center opposition a rare issue uniting Americans across the political divide, 12:56 minutes, September 20, 2026.

Clean Energy Group, Data Centers and Energy Usage 101: Impacts on the Electric Grid, September 1, 2026.

Climate X Change, State Policy Solutions for Data Center Impacts — Electricity Affordability and Reliability, (04-14-26)

HeatMap, 2026 Data Center and Power Market Outlook, June 24, 2026

Institute for Local Self-Reliance, The Data Centers are Coming! (series)

University of Iowa, Hubbell Environmental Law Initiative, Data Centers in Iowa: Perspectives from Community, Government, and Research, March 9, 2026

Volts podcast

• Doing data centers the not-dumb way (04-15-26)
• Making sense of the data center backlash (07-20-26)
• What should state policymakers do about data centers? (08-05-26)
• Making data centers flexible so they can serve the grid rather than stress it out (08-26-26)

Print this Section

This section provides Iowa legislators and staff with a landscape of policy options enacted in other states, the relevant analytical literature, and context from Iowa’s regulatory record needed to design effective legislation.

The Current Situation

As noted in an earlier section, Iowa has various tax incentives to lure data center investments to the state. Iowa has lagged behind other states, however, in passing legislation that would impose certain regulatory requirements on the various types of data center operations.

Most recently, Rep. Cindy Golding (R-Cedar Rapids) introduced House File 2690 (originally HF 2447) in February 2026, which would have required quarterly energy and water use reports from data centers with data posted publicly within 30 days. Six bipartisan amendments were filed in March 2026:

• H-8214 (Gjerde, D-Linn): Would have prevented cities with populations of 1,400–1,409 from annexing land to build data centers — directly actions taken by the City of Palo, Iowa.
• H-8213 (Scholten, D-Woodbury): Would have awarded $5 million to the Iowa Geological Survey for FY 2026–27 to monitor groundwater.
• H-8212 (Zabner, D-Johnson): Would have required a publicly searchable database of data center reports including taxes saved.
• H-8207 (Zabner, D-Johnson): Would have required a standardized reporting template for water use and public incentives received.
• H-8205 (Young, R-Dallas): Would have required annual reports on water withdrawal volume and source.
• H-8203 (Gjerde, D-Linn): Companion to H-8214, amending H-8205 to the same effect.

Unfortunately, HF 2690 did not survive the second funnel and thus did not receive a vote in either chamber during the 2026 Iowa legislative session.  Its failure leaves Iowa without any mandatory data center energy or water disclosure requirement. That said, the bipartisan amendment activity — including H-8205 from a Republican member — suggests the possibility of meaningful support for reintroduction in 2027.

Guidance from the Chair of the Iowa Utilities Commission (IUC)

In her signed concurrence approving QTS Cedar Rapids’s ICR agreement (TF-2025-0047, October 9, 2025), IUC Chair Sarah Martz identified three specific contract provisions Interstate Power and Light Company (dba Alliant Energy) should have required of QTS but did not. Iowa legislators should consider codifying the following in statute so that they don’t need to be negotiated on a case by case basis. 

• A longer contract term to ensure complete recovery of utility infrastructure investments before a data center can exit.
• More conservative assumptions about the likely types and costs of generation to be built to serve the load.
• A minimum demand charge linked to a contract ramp schedule — as required in Indiana and Ohio — protecting ratepayers if the data center ramps more slowly than projected or closes early.

Chair Martz noted that the size of the QTS customer “magnifies both the potential benefits and the potential risks” and that effective oversight “depends on openness from the utility.”

Best Practices: What Other States Have Done

The following table outlines some best practices developed in other states, provides links to the cited legislation, regulatory action, or utility initiatives, and comments on the status of these ideas in Iowa. 

In Texas, which has been quite open to data centers, Governor Greg Abbott recently recommended the legislature pass sweeping data center reforms, which include:

• Requiring new facilities to add power generation to the state’s power grid
• Requiring data centers pay for their own grid interconnection and infrastructure costs
• Mandating the use of “closed-loop” water systems, which draw a large amount of water at the start but reuse it over some period of years
• Requiring annual reporting by all data centers on electricity and water use
• Establishing best-practice standards to address community concerns like noise
• Repealing data center sales tax exemptions and “other outdated or unnecessary incentives for data centers”

It is not clear when or whether the Texas legislature will address Governor Abbott’s policy proposals.

Key Legislative Resources

Canary Media, How states are trying to keep AI data centers off your power bill, March 4, 2026.

This article analyzes many of the more than 65 large load tariffs that have been proposed or approved in over 30 states through 2025.

Clean Energy Group, Data Center Energy Accountability Initiative

Clean Energy Group works with regulators, policymakers, advocates, and community groups to ensure that they have the tools and information needed to evaluate the impacts of large-scale data center development and to advance

Climate XChange, Resources for Regulating Data Centers

During 2026, Climate XChange is releasing five toolkits describing state policies addressing data center impacts on water, electricity affordability and reliability, greenhouse gas emissions, tax and employment justice, and transparency concerns.

• • Water Impacts (April 1, 2026)
  • Electricity Affordability and Reliability (April 9, 2026)
  • Transparency and Accountability (May 14, 2026)
  • Greenhouse Gas Emissions (September 2, 2026)

DataCenterTracker.org, Legislation Tracker (Updated regularly)

Provides links to state and federal bills regulating data center development.

Carbon Direct, Data Centers and Their Energy Use: Trends in State Capitals, December 15, 2025.

A systematic review of 190+ state bills introduced in 2025. Identifies bipartisan concern about ratepayer protection. Iowa-specific context included.

Georgetown Environmental Law Review, How Can Regulators Fight Back? Consumers Paying for Data Centers, October 6, 2025.

The article explores how the rapid expansion of AI-driven data centers is driving up electricity costs for residential consumers, who often subsidize the necessary infrastructure upgrades through traditional utility rate structures. To combat this, the author suggests that regulators implement targeted "clean transition tariffs" and stricter state-level legislation to ensure that data center developers bear their own costs and adhere to climate goals.

Great Plains Institute, Great Lakes Data Center Resource Hub (Updated regularly)

Navigate to the “Policies” tab and then scroll down to “Legislation.”

Harvard Electricity Law Initiative, Extracting Profits from the Public: How Ratepayers Are Paying for Big Tech’s Power, March 2025.

Provides detailed legal and regulatory analysis of how utility rate structures allow infrastructure costs to flow from data centers to residential customers. Discusses regulatory pathways to address the issue.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Electricity Rate Designs for Large Loads: Evolving Practices and Opportunities 2026 Update.

This report presents a series of tariff design elements that seek to mitigate utility financial, planning, and operational risks, as well as support broader power system goals and objectives. They are organized to provide utilities, regulators, customers and other stakeholders with an understanding of common design elements and how prevalent they are in practice. The authors analyzed a sample of 55 tariffs derived from Halcyon’s Large Load Tariff Tracker as of March 2026 and supplemented the information with independent research to identify key large load tariff design elements.

National Caucus of Environmental Legislators (NCEL), Data Centers Issue Brief, April 29, 2025

A comprehensive legislative overview of enacted and pending state bills across all major policy categories. Includes model bill language summaries. (Updated regularly.)

National Conference of State Legislators, Which States are Banning Data Centers (Updated regularly)

NCSL tracks the states considering moratoriums. This list is updated regularly. For the most comprehensive resource on data center policy, please see NCSL’s report , Subsidizing Servers: How States Are Competing to Attract Data Centers.

Volts Podcast with David Roberts:

• Doing data centers the not-dumb way (04-15-26)
• Making sense of the data center backlash (07-20-26)
• What should state policymakers do about data centers? (08-05-26)