Two rural Minnesota townships are mounting organized opposition to a proposed hyperscale data center in Nobles County, citing concerns about unproven cooling technology, farmland loss, and potential environmental damage that could affect crop yields and water supplies for generations. Elk and Bloom townships have formally adopted resolutions opposing the project, and community meetings drew far larger attendance than typical, signaling intense local resistance to the development .

What Makes This Data Center Proposal Different From Others?

The proposed facility, being developed by Geronimo Power, would use a closed-loop cooling system, a technology that circulates water continuously within the system rather than drawing from external sources. While this approach reduces water consumption compared to traditional data center cooling, the scale planned for Nobles County has no proven precedent in the United States. Ian Vogel, a Slayton resident who researched data centers across the country, explained the core issue: "The one that's being proposed in the data center in Nobles County is a closed-loop system. It basically functions like a radiator. You fill it once and then the water just keeps circulating within it to maintain the cooling function. And closed-loop technology is a proven technology. The issue with this one is that currently there are no closed-loop systems of the scale that they're talking about building that are fully functional anywhere in the United States" .

This lack of operational precedent means there is no long-term data available on potential unintended consequences or future problems. The absence of proven, large-scale examples makes it difficult for regulators and community members to assess real-world risks .

How Are Local Communities Organizing to Address Their Concerns?

• Township Resolutions: Both Elk and Bloom townships adopted formal resolutions opposing the data center on farmland, citing agricultural preservation laws and submitted them to the Nobles County Planning and Zoning office for consideration.
• Expanded Public Meetings: Elk Township's annual meeting in March drew 24 attendees, far exceeding the typical handful, with all expressing opposition to the project and concerns about long-term impacts.
• Community Research: Local residents conducted extensive research on data centers nationwide, identifying specific environmental and operational risks that were not addressed in the project's scoping documents.
• Cross-Township Coordination: Bloom Township residents voiced concerns about not just the data center site but also the surrounding infrastructure, including solar and wind farms, transmission lines, and substations needed to power the facility.

Elk Township Board Chairman Andrew Dierks noted the overwhelming consensus: "In my initial communications that I had, I never ran across a single resident that was for it" . The level of engagement suggests this is not a typical development proposal but one that has mobilized the entire rural community.

Andrew Dierks

What Environmental and Agricultural Risks Are Communities Most Concerned About?

The concerns raised by Elk and Bloom townships extend far beyond the immediate data center footprint. One critical issue is the heat generated by the cooling system itself. Recent research cited by Bloom Township Treasurer Shelly Onken indicates that hyperscale data centers can raise the temperature of surrounding land by 3.6 to 16 degrees Fahrenheit for up to 6.2 miles away . For farmers like Dierks, this temperature increase poses a direct threat to crop productivity. "We want cool nights and not too hot of days," he explained. "If you raised the temperature it could be a problem for corn. In theory, once it tassels you want to slow the grain fill period down to increase the yield. If the temperature increases and speeds that grain fill process up, that could lead to lower yields which would be concerning" .

Another major concern involves the cooling system's potential to leak. Vogel identified a critical gap in the project's planning documents: "There are places around the country where people who live in proximity or in the near vicinity to data centers, their wells have been poisoned and aquifers have been irreparably damaged because of leaks from cooling systems in data centers" . The scoping documents do not specify what cooling liquid would be used, which Vogel described as "a red flag," since some aqueous or antifreeze fluids are toxic to the environment .

The project site drains eastward through Judicial Ditch 8 into Elk Creek, approximately five miles downstream. Elk Creek is currently protected under WRAPS (Wetland Reserve and Protection System) and fully supports aquatic life. However, the scoping document concludes without supporting analysis that project impacts on the stream are unlikely, a conclusion Vogel found unsupported by the document's own data .

What Gaps Exist in the Project's Environmental Planning?

Vogel raised significant concerns about the completeness of the Alternative Urban Areawide Review (AUAR) scoping document, which is supposed to address worst-case scenarios. The document explicitly states its purpose is to evaluate worst-case scenarios, yet it fails to address several obvious potential issues. "While he doesn't have it memorized, Vogel is quite certain the document does not take into consideration anything regarding fires or severe weather damage" .

Additionally, the scoping document does not adequately address the hazardous waste generated by the facility. Bloom Township board members expressed concerns about disposing of treated water from the closed-loop cooling system, as well as electronic equipment estimated to become obsolete every five years . The long-term environmental impact of disposing this equipment and treated water remains unclear.

Vogel expressed disappointment with the thoroughness of the planning process: "I'll be honest, I was really disappointed in Geronimo after reviewing the AUAR scoping document. It simply doesn't come across as a good faith effort to address worst case scenarios. Geronimo has an entire team of people who assess what can go wrong with a project like this, but are leaving it to community members, with no subject matter expertise, to request that Geronimo include obvious items in the AUAR" .

Vogel

What Other Quality-of-Life Impacts Are Residents Worried About?

Beyond environmental and agricultural concerns, residents have raised issues that would affect daily life in the rural community. These include light and noise pollution from the 24/7 operation of the facility, potential increases in electrical rates for surrounding residents, and the loss of farmland not just for the data center itself but for the associated solar and wind farms, transmission lines, and substations required to power it . Bloom Township residents also expressed concern about rising farmland prices, which could make it difficult for the next generation of farmers to afford property in the area .

The scale of land use change extends well beyond the data center building itself. The infrastructure needed to support a hyperscale facility, including renewable energy generation and transmission infrastructure, would fundamentally alter the character of the rural landscape and the agricultural economy that has sustained these communities for generations.