Data Center Registry
Google Palo Data Center Campus
Palo, Linn County, Iowa · All 53 Google sites · Every Google case on our tracker
Google Palo Data Center Campus is a proposed data center in Palo, Iowa (Linn County), operated by Google. The public record puts it at announced October 6, 2025. It is the subject of active public debate, with hearings, petitions, or organized opposition on record.
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.
Facility record
Proposed
- Operator
- Facility type
- Data center
- Location
- Palo, Linn County, IA
- Coordinates
- 42.0611, -91.7935 (approximate)
- Power capacity
- Not established from a public source
- Land
- Not established from a public source
- Investment
- Not established from a public source
- Announced
- October 6, 2025
- Utility
- NextEra Energy (Duane Arnold Energy Center)
- Power source
- Nuclear
- Cooling
- Not established from a public source
- Water use
- 12 million gallons a day, reported
- Jobs
- Not established from a public source
- Public subsidy
- Not established from a public source
- Community reception
- Contested
- Source confidence
- Confirmed by multiple independent sources or official documentation
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.
- October 6, 2025ProposedGoogle approached the Linn County Board of Supervisors about a project of up to six buildings near the Duane Arnold Energy Center. Source: The Gazette
Opposition and litigation at this site
Yes. Google Palo Data Center Campus in Palo, Linn County, Iowa is contested. Hearings, public comment, petitions, or organized opposition are on record, and no lawsuit has been filed so far. Residents raised water and energy use, noise and light pollution at months of Palo public meetings.
How the community has taken it
Reception is a sourced signal, not an editorial judgment: contested means active public debate is on record, with hearings, petitions, or organized opposition, without litigation.
Residents raised water and energy use, noise and light pollution at months of Palo public meetings. Linn County supervisors objected to Google pursuing annexation into Palo to avoid county water-use and economic agreements; Supervisor Sami Scheetz called the workaround 'fundamentally wrong.' Linn County adopted an 18-month moratorium (effective 2026-07-01) on new EU-3 large-scale data center rezoning applications, and Palo passed its own data center ordinance on 2026-07-21.
Power and water
Google is helping recommission the Duane Arnold Energy Center with the intention that it power this campus; Iowa Public Radio reported the plant would supply over 90 percent of the data center's power, about 565 MW. That is a plant-supply figure, not a confirmed IT load for the campus.
Iowa Public Radio (2026-03-04) reported the proposed project's water usage at approximately 12 million gallons per day. Linn County's data center ordinance required a water balance study; that study was funded through the county development framework and is 'on pause' after Google moved to annex into Palo instead.
Notes on the record
Proposed campus of up to six buildings on land near the Duane Arnold Energy Center in unincorporated Linn County near Palo. Distinct site from Google's existing Cedar Rapids data center at the Big Cedar Industrial Center. No construction timeline set; Google shifted from county approval to annexation into the City of Palo in February 2026.
What the record does not establish, and the document that would
In every fight on our tracker the decisive fact came out of a public records request. These are the requests for this site.
- Power capacity in megawatts
- Tax abatements or other public subsidy
- Permanent jobs promised
- Land area
Which document closes each gap
- Power capacity in megawatts
- The utility's large load service agreement, the interconnection request in the grid operator's queue, or the electrical site plan in the permit file.
- Tax abatements or other public subsidy
- The abatement, PILOT, or development agreement approved by the county, city, or development authority, and the state's data center sales tax exemption certificate if one was issued.
- Permanent jobs promised
- The economic development application or incentive agreement, which usually states a job commitment and a clawback.
- Land area
- The rezoning application, the plat, or the deed recorded with the county.
Have one of these documents? Send it to us and we will add it to the record with attribution.
Other sites within 30 miles
Distances are between recorded coordinates, many of which are a city or county centroid, so treat them as approximate. Cumulative load on one utility and one aquifer is the question a planning commission rarely asks.
- Google Cedar Rapids Data Center Campus · Cedar Rapids · Google9 mi · Under construction · Supported
- QTS Cedar Rapids Data Center Campus · Cedar Rapids · QTS Data Centers10 mi · Under construction · 1.1 GW · Supported
- Oppidan Cedar Rapids Data Center · Cedar Rapids · Oppidan10 mi · Permitted · 10 MW · Mixed reception
Questions people ask about this site
Is there opposition to the Google Palo Data Center Campus in Palo?
Yes. Google Palo Data Center Campus in Palo, Linn County, Iowa is contested. Hearings, public comment, petitions, or organized opposition are on record, and no lawsuit has been filed so far. Residents raised water and energy use, noise and light pollution at months of Palo public meetings.
Has anyone filed a lawsuit over the Google Palo Data Center Campus?
No lawsuit over Google Palo Data Center Campus appears in the record we track as of August 14, 2026. Residents most often reach a lawyer over water supply, well drawdown, noise from cooling plant, property value, or a rezoning approved without the notice the ordinance required. If any of that is happening near this site, it is worth a review whether or not a case has been filed yet.
How much water does Google Palo Data Center Campus use?
12 million gallons a day is the reported figure on record. Iowa Public Radio (2026-03-04) reported the proposed project's water usage at approximately 12 million gallons per day.
Who operates Google Palo Data Center Campus, and how big is it?
Google is the operator on record. We hold 53 sites for that company across the registry. No capacity figure is on record for this site.
How to cite this page
SueDataCenters.org Data Center Registry, "Google Palo Data Center Campus," updated August 14, 2026, https://suedatacenters.org/data-centers/google-palo-ia.
Facility data from Compute Atlas (E. Kubiak), version 1.32.0 (September 7, 2026), licensed CC BY 4.0, record https://www.compute-atlas.com/facilities/google-palo-ia, retrieved September 14, 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 exploring data center project near Palo · The Gazette · retrieved August 14, 2026
- 2.Google eyes data center in Palo to bypass Linn County regulations · Iowa Public Radio · retrieved August 14, 2026
- 3.Linn County considers exception for Google as nearby Palo passes data center regulations · Iowa Public Radio · retrieved August 14, 2026
- 4.Data Centers in Unincorporated Linn County (EU-3 district and 18-month moratorium) · Linn County, Iowa · retrieved August 14, 2026
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