Google wins approval for Minnesota data center, drops $80 million tax break request
Google's Hermantown data center project received unanimous city council approval. To ease local opposition, the company scaled down its building plans and withdrew an $80 million tax break request, though lawsuits and power approvals still block construction.
According to Tom's Hardware, technology giant Google has secured approval for its proposed data center in Hermantown, Minnesota, following a unanimous vote by the city council on October 30, 2026. This decision clears a major local hurdle for the project after it faced two postponed meetings and hours of public opposition.
To gain approval, Google made significant concessions regarding the project's scale and financial terms. The company reduced its initial plan from four data center buildings to three, capped the height at 33 feet, and agreed to monitor nearby private wells. Furthermore, Google withdrew an earlier request for up to $80 million in property tax breaks. Under the revised arrangement, the project is expected to generate about $3 million in annual property tax revenue for the city, and Google has also agreed to a separate $210 million decommissioning agreement to cover potential future site closures or abandoned construction.
Despite receiving the local land-use permit, the project is far from breaking ground. Three lawsuits filed by The Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy and Stop the Hermantown Data Center currently challenge the city's zoning process and land ownership, while demanding an environmental review. Additionally, the data center requires approximately 500 megawatts of power—comparable to the combined residential demand of Minneapolis, St. Paul, Duluth, and Rochester. Consequently, Google must still await final approval on its electricity consumption from the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission.