Data Center Registry

Google Hermantown Data Center

Hermantown, St. Louis County, Minnesota · All 61 Google sites · Every Google case on our tracker

ProposedIn litigationRecord updated October 28, 2026

Google Hermantown Data Center is a proposed data center in Hermantown, Minnesota (St. Louis County), operated by Google. The public record puts it at 600 MW planned, 234 acres, a reported $650 million investment. It is or has been the subject of litigation over its siting, permitting, or operation.

Every line on this page traces to a public source listed at the bottom. Where a figure was looked for and not found, the row says so. A blank is never a zero.

What our reporting adds

The base record lists this site as proposed with no reception on record. Our reporting from city emails, county records and two lawsuits sets the reception to in litigation, the planned capacity to the 300 to 600 megawatt range Google gave in August 2026, and adds the abatement, jobs and water terms from the agreements the council tabled.

Facility record

Proposed

Operator: Google
Facility type: Data center
Location: Hermantown, St. Louis County, MN
Coordinates: 46.8069, -92.2382 (approximate)
Power capacity: 600 MW planned
Land: 234 acres
Investment: $650 million
Announced: Not established from a public source
Utility: Minnesota Power
Power source: Mixed
Cooling: Air cooled
Water use: Not established from a public source
Jobs: 100 permanent; 2,000 construction
Public subsidy: Property tax abatement, 85 percent after the first $100,000, 28 years, capped at $80 million in 2052 dollars (about $33.5 million present value), City of Hermantown, 2026
Community reception: In litigation
Source confidence: Reported by at least one credible outlet or filing

Timeline from the record

Newest first. Record entries come from the filings and reports the registry cites. Coverage entries are headlines from publisher feeds we monitor daily, linked to the outlet; last checked September 14, 2026.

September 8, 2026
Coverage
DNR lists concerns on Hermantown data center environmental review · Duluth News Tribune
August 20, 2026
Proposed
Google scales the plan back to 1.66 million square feet in three buildings, 300 to 600 megawatts, 16 generators.
May 4, 2026
Proposed
Council tables the tax abatement and development agreements pending the redone review and the lawsuits.
March 3, 2026
Proposed
Google announces it is the end user. Code name Project Loon. $650 million first phase.
November 5, 2025
Proposed
MCEA and Stop the Hermantown Data Center sue over the environmental review.
October 20, 2025
Proposed
City Council rezones the land 4 to 0 after a five hour hearing with more than 300 people in attendance.
September 23, 2025
Proposed
Minnesota Star Tribune identifies the 'communication services facility' in the city's environmental review as a data center, from a January 2025 consultant letter obtained by records request.
September 18, 2024
Proposed
City administrator emails colleagues about a data center next to the Minnesota Power substation, a $1 billion investment and 50 plus jobs; the mayor's response was 'wow.' The public was not told for a year.

Opposition and litigation at this site

Yes. Google Hermantown Data Center in Hermantown, St. Louis County, Minnesota is or has been the subject of litigation over its siting, permitting, or operation. Two lawsuits are pending against the City of Hermantown: an environmental review challenge by the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy and Stop the Hermantown Data Center (St.

How the community has taken it

Reception is a sourced signal, not an editorial judgment: in litigation means the facility is or has been the subject of a lawsuit related to its siting, permitting, or operation.

Two lawsuits are pending against the City of Hermantown: an environmental review challenge by the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy and Stop the Hermantown Data Center (St. Louis County District Court No. 69DU-CV-25-3448, filed November 5, 2025, paused while the review is redone), and a spot zoning and open meetings suit served April 29, 2026. The council rezoned the land 4 to 0 on October 20, 2025 after nearly 70 speakers, mostly opposed, over four hours. City officials and 22 county employees and three commissioners signed nondisclosure agreements with the developer; Google announced their termination on August 17, 2026.

Power and water

Google-Minnesota Power electric service agreement calls for 700MW of new clean energy resources (300MW wind + 400MW battery storage) to serve the campus; Google also committed $5M to Minnesota Power's energy-affordability and efficiency programs for low/moderate-income customers.

Air cooled. Up to 50,000 gallons a day for sanitation and fire suppression, per the city and the developer; the environmental review challenge disputes the estimate.

Public money on the record

Program	Amount	Granted by	Year
Property tax abatement, 85 percent after the first $100,000, 28 years, capped at $80 million in 2052 dollars (about $33.5 million present value)	$80 million	City of Hermantown	2026

Notes on the record

Listed by Google among its US data centers under development. As of August 2026, Google had not published a dedicated location page, capacity, investment figure, or timeline for this site, and as of October 2026 its US locations index still lists the site without a detail page. No investment figure is recorded. MPR News (May 2026) reports that under the proposed agreements Google was expected to spend $650 million on the first phase, and that the city expected three phases over eight to 10 years with a total investment "in the ballpark of $2 billion"; KAXE (May 2026) describes the build-out as four phases. The $2 billion is an estimate attributed to the city. The 100 permanent jobs are the long-term figure at full buildout given by Google's Liz Schwab, per MPR News. Coordinates are the Hermantown city centroid (approximate).

Our reporting on this site

The Hermantown File · Guide

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Questions people ask about this site

Is there opposition to the Google Hermantown Data Center in Hermantown?

Has anyone filed a lawsuit over the Google Hermantown Data Center?

Yes. This site is recorded as being in litigation. The case, the court, and the filings we hold are listed on this page under the timeline and the sources.

How much water does Google Hermantown Data Center use?

No water withdrawal figure for Google Hermantown Data Center is on record here. Cooling is recorded as air_cooled, which is the strongest available clue: closed loop and air cooled plant draw far less than evaporative cooling. We leave the number blank rather than estimate one.

Who operates Google Hermantown Data Center, and how big is it?

Google is the operator on record. We hold 61 sites for that company across the registry. Capacity on record is 600 MW. The site is recorded at 234 acres.

How to cite this page

SueDataCenters.org Data Center Registry, "Google Hermantown Data Center," updated October 28, 2026, https://suedatacenters.org/data-centers/google-hermantown-mn.

Facility data from Compute Atlas (E. Kubiak), version 1.34.1 (October 4, 2026), licensed CC BY 4.0, record https://www.compute-atlas.com/facilities/google-hermantown-mn, retrieved October 29, 2026.

Corrections with a public source are welcome at the Compute Atlas record or through our contact page. The whole registry is available as CSV and JSON under CC BY 4.0.

Sources for this record

As compiled and cited by Compute Atlas, with our own reporting appended. Archived links are used where the original has moved.

1.Google Data Centers, US locations · Google · retrieved August 8, 2026
2.Google is behind proposed Hermantown data center · KAXE · retrieved August 24, 2026
3.Minnesota Power presents details on proposed data center deal · Fox21online · retrieved August 24, 2026
4.Hermantown begins new downsized site review for data center · Duluth News Tribune · retrieved August 24, 2026
5.KAXE, More details emerge as Google, Hermantown work out data center agreements (2026-05-20): waterless/air-cooled design, max 50,000 gal/day, AUAR status, public objections · KAXE · retrieved September 18, 2026
6.Minnesota PUC, Data centers and the PUC's role: Minnesota Power / Harmony Group, LLC electric service agreement for Hermantown, docket 26-159, filed 2026-03-26 · Minnesota Public Utilities Commission · retrieved September 18, 2026
7.Hermantown tables vote on key agreements for contentious Google data center · MPR News · retrieved October 13, 2026
8.Google data center in Minnesota would be powered by wind, energy storage · POWER Magazine · retrieved October 13, 2026
9.The Hermantown File: two years of records, in order · SueDataCenters.org · retrieved September 5, 2026
10.Northeast Minnesota data center wins key approval as hundreds protest · Minnesota Star Tribune · retrieved September 5, 2026
11.Legal updates on MCEA's data center cases, No. 69DU-CV-25-3448 · Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy · retrieved September 5, 2026
12.More details emerge as Google, Hermantown work out data center agreements · KAXE · retrieved September 5, 2026
13.Google scales back proposed data center in northeast Minnesota · Minnesota Star Tribune · retrieved September 5, 2026

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