Data Center Registry
Google Project Helium (Barber County)
Sharon, Barber County, Kansas · All 53 Google sites · Every Google case on our tracker
Google Project Helium (Barber County) is a permitted data center in Sharon, Kansas (Barber County), operated by Google. The public record puts it at 900 acres. 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.
What our reporting adds
Our case file documents this site. No lawsuit filed; agreements approved 2 to 0 with one abstention on Monday, August 31, 2026.
Facility record
Permitted
- Operator
- Facility type
- Data center
- Location
- Sharon, Barber County, KS
- Coordinates
- 37.2503, -98.4176 (approximate)
- Power capacity
- Not established from a public source
- Land
- 900 acres
- Investment
- Not established from a public source
- Announced
- Not established from a public source
- Utility
- Not established from a public source
- Cooling
- Air cooled
- Water use
- Not established from a public source
- Jobs
- Not established from a public source
- Public subsidy
- No property tax abatement: 100 percent of ad valorem taxes payable, plus $5.5 million in community benefit payments, $5 million road security and decommissioning security at 125 percent of estimated cost, Barber County, 2026
- 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.
- August 31, 2026PermittedBoard of County Commissioners approves the development, road use and decommissioning agreements 2 to 0 with one abstention, after finalizing the contract in an executive session that morning.
Opposition and litigation at this site
Yes. Google Project Helium (Barber County) in Sharon, Barber County, Kansas is contested. Hearings, public comment, petitions, or organized opposition are on record. No lawsuit filed; agreements approved 2 to 0 with one abstention on Monday, August 31, 2026.
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.
No lawsuit filed; agreements approved 2 to 0 with one abstention on Monday, August 31, 2026. About 1.7 million square feet, air cooled, on about 900 of the roughly 2,000 acres Google assembled northwest of Sharon, about eight miles east of Medicine Lodge; construction in early 2027, first building operational in 2030. Approved by development, road use and decommissioning agreements rather than zoning; Barber County has no planning or zoning office. Residents opposed the approval at the county annex in Medicine Lodge.
Power and water
Chillers must sit at least 2,250 feet from non-participating residences; noise limits of 55 dBA daytime and 50 dBA nighttime at full load, per the county's summary of terms.
Air cooled; the agreement terms bar new water wells.
Public money on the record
| Program | Amount | Granted by | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| No property tax abatement: 100 percent of ad valorem taxes payable, plus $5.5 million in community benefit payments, $5 million road security and decommissioning security at 125 percent of estimated cost | Not established | Barber County | 2026 |
Notes on the record
About 1.7 million square feet on about 900 of the roughly 2,000 acres Google assembled northwest of Sharon, about eight miles east of Medicine Lodge. Construction planned for early 2027 with the first building operational in 2030, per the county's summary of terms.
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
- Permanent jobs promised
- Which utility serves it
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.
- Permanent jobs promised
- The economic development application or incentive agreement, which usually states a job commitment and a clawback.
- Which utility serves it
- The electric service agreement or the utility's filing with the state public utility commission.
Have one of these documents? Send it to us and we will add it to the record with attribution.
Our reporting on this site
- Project Helium in Barber County, Kansas · Dispute, no suit filed
- What a Gigawatt Would Mean for Sharon, Kansas · Guide
- The Water Question Nobody Answered in Barber County · Guide
Questions people ask about this site
Is there opposition to the Google Project Helium (Barber County) data center in Sharon?
Yes. Google Project Helium (Barber County) in Sharon, Barber County, Kansas is contested. Hearings, public comment, petitions, or organized opposition are on record. No lawsuit filed; agreements approved 2 to 0 with one abstention on Monday, August 31, 2026.
Has anyone filed a lawsuit over the Google Project Helium (Barber County) data center?
The reception note on this record refers to a court proceeding. Read it in full under opposition and litigation above, and check the sources at the foot of the page for the filing itself.
How much water does Google Project Helium (Barber County) use?
No water withdrawal figure for Google Project Helium (Barber County) 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 Project Helium (Barber County), 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. The site is recorded at 900 acres.
How to cite this page
SueDataCenters.org Data Center Registry, "Google Project Helium (Barber County)," updated September 3, 2026, https://suedatacenters.org/data-centers/google-project-helium-barber-county-ks.
Facility record compiled by SueDataCenters.org from the public documents cited on the page, last updated September 3, 2026.
Corrections with a public source are welcome through our contact page. The whole registry is available as CSV and JSON under CC BY 4.0.
Sources for this record
As cited in our case file. Every figure on this page traces to one of these documents.
- 1.Barber County press release: commissioners announce agreement terms for Project Helium · Barber County, Kansas · retrieved September 3, 2026
- 2.Barber County: summary of agreement terms with Google regarding Project Helium · Barber County, Kansas · retrieved September 3, 2026
- 3.Barber County Commission approves agreement for Google data center · KWCH · retrieved September 3, 2026
- 4.Project Helium in Barber County, Kansas: Google's Data Center Was Approved by Development Agreement, Not Zoning. Here Is What That Leaves Residents. · SueDataCenters.org · retrieved September 3, 2026
- 5.KAKE: Commissioners approve Google data center in Barber County (August 30, 2026, updated August 31) · kake.com · retrieved September 3, 2026
- 6.Barber County, Kansas: county website and department list · barber.ks.gov · retrieved September 3, 2026
- 7.Barber County Commissioners page, including responses to the 2024 zoning survey · barber.ks.gov · retrieved September 3, 2026
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