Minnesota’s environment is not for sale
Minnesotans understand the significant environmental risks posed by hyperscale data centers, which dwarf traditional data centers in scale and scope and have never operated in the state before. They’ve heard the stories about residents from other parts of the country whose kitchen sinks have run dry or whose energy bills have skyrocketed. They’re concerned about how the sprawling, stadium-sized AI-driven facilities could upend their community and way of life.
MCEA has filed several lawsuits challenging this repeated undermining of Minnesota’s bedrock environmental laws and core democratic ideals. The suits lay out example after example of how developers and city officials failed to adequately study even some of the most common and significant environmental impacts associated with the burgeoning data center industry.
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Click here to Read about a recent win for environmental and community protections
Hyperscale data centers can require millions of gallons of water annually for cooling and vast amounts of energy to power their high-tech operations. They also carry implications for sulfide mining, given the metals involved, and can generate significant noise and light pollution for nearby community members.
More than 20 hyperscale data centers have been proposed across Minnesota. If just 10 are built, they would consume as much energy as the entire state of Minnesota. That kind of spike could leave utilities scrambling to meet the demand, potentially leading to delayed coal plant retirements or the construction of new fossil fuel plants.
The potential strain on water is equally jarring. The Meta-backed facility proposed in Farmington would, for example, double the city’s water consumption. So far, the state lacks the regulatory infrastructure to assess and manage these novel risks.
In addition to these threats, Minnesotans have watched developers and cities hide information about proposals behind non-disclosure agreements while trying to advance the projects without adequate environmental review or public process.
MCEA is proud to work with communities across Minnesota that are standing up for the transparent and democratic processes protected by our state's bedrock environmental laws.
We are incredibly grateful for MCEA’s advocacy. Google, one of the biggest companies, tried to game the system, but Minnesota’s environmental laws are there for a reason and need to be upheld and strengthened, not undermined. Even the supposed Goliaths need to be reminded, 'No, you stop right there.' Minnesotans have made it abundantly clear: we are not for sale. Our waters, forests, prairies, and natural resources are something we want to protect and preserve.
Aubree Derksen, Pine Island resident
Data Center Updates
Data Center Demands
700+ Megawatts
The electricity consumption of just one “hyperscale” data center, which is more than the Monticello Nuclear Power Plant's output
7, 352 homes
The equivalent daily water use of one data center proposal in Farmington, which could double the city's usage
10+
Current proposals for hyperscale data centers in Minnesota
0
The number of comprehensive environmental reviews done for these proposed data centers
North Mankato Case Study
MCEA Attorney Luke Norquist drove down to North Mankato in July of 2025 to attend a City Council vote we strongly suspected involved a hyper-scale data center.
The Council was voting on whether to approve an environmental review document called an Alternative Urban Areawide Review (AUAR) for a vaguely defined 4 million square foot “technology park.” Very little information was provided to the public about what a technology park was, what it would do, or how the project would be designed to minimize environmental impacts.
Luke’s been closely tracking these proposals across the state. Even though the AUAR failed to talk about “data centers,” he knew to look for signs like massive water use. And deep in its traffic analysis, the AUAR applied the land use code commonly used for data centers.
Luke urged council members at the meeting not to approve the environmental review document. If the project was a data center, Luke said there was no way to know what the full environmental impacts of the proposed development would be, much less how the City and region could accommodate that kind of spike in water and electricity use, unless the City spoke plainly about what it was reviewing
City staff dodged.
“They said there was no data center project before the City, that they didn’t know what the development might end up being. They said it could be a warehouse, or a data center, or a lot of different things,” Luke recalled.
Days later, city records obtained through a public records request showed North Mankato was indeed pursuing a data center in the AUAR location.
Eventually, the project stopped advancing, leading MCEA to drop our lawsuit. But community members’ frustration about the flawed process behind it continues.
Unfortunately, North Mankato’s process is not unique in Minnesota.
“Data center companies appear to be pitching this secretive, corner-cutting strategy in city after city,” Luke said.
The lack of transparency surrounding hyper-scale data center proposals advancing across the state, and the repercussions for accurately assessing the impacts this novel industry could have on Minnesota’s water supply and electricity demand, are a thread through all of MCEA’s hyperscale data center legal challenges.
But Minnesotans have a right to know where the energy will come from to power these massive facilities and how our clean air, drinking water, and quality of life will be protected. Our laws require more transparency, and Minnesotans deserve it.
MCEA will continue to advocate that state agencies must play a role in reviewing these proposals so that it’s clear how this new demand on resources could impact Minnesota’s groundwater and energy supplies statewide
Luke and other attorneys at MCEA will also continue to field calls from concerned residents across Minnesota who are fighting for access to more information about ill-defined proposals under consideration in their cities. And if and when necessary, show up at City Council meetings to call for the transparency Minnesotans deserve.
"Minnesotans need to be at the helm regarding hyper-scale data centers as they come into our state. Protections for our resources, our tax dollars and quality of life are being determined by billionaire developers and end users, with the risk borne by the citizenry."
- Cathy Johnson, President of the Coalition for Responsible Data Center Development