On Tuesday, August 11, we met at the Ida Grove Community Recreation Center to talk about data centers in Ida County. This page is the short version of what we presented, and what happens next.
We have proposed bringing a data center to Ida County. Where it could go, how big it could be, and whether it gets built at all runs through the County’s public process, under rules the County adopts first.
With every project, we start broad, then condense it down as we learn more, power limitations, site conditions, and local input included.
What we land on is research and a starting point, for each county's board to react to, revise, and finish however they see fit.
Here's what we have outlined for Ida County.
We build small. Think neighborhood hospital, not Mayo Clinic. We build in 10 MW blocks, and we ask every county we work in to cap project size at 25 MW in its own rules — so the limit belongs to the County, not to us.
Figures are the design estimates presented at the August 11 meeting.
The water question is really a cooling question — and we use closed-loop cooling, which recirculates the same water instead of evaporating it away.
Each 10 MW block is designed to use about 350,000–700,000 gallons per year — about what 3 to 6 households use. Even at the largest build under the 25 MW cap, that's roughly 875,000–1.7 million gallons a year, about what 8 to 15 households use — and still less than a similar-sized movie theater uses in a year (about 2,000,000 gallons).
The giant water numbers you may have read about come from evaporative-cooled hyperscale campuses — a different design at a different scale. That's not what we build, and the draft guidelines put low-water closed-loop cooling in the County's rules, not just our plans.
"Data center" covers buildings that have almost nothing in common. Most of what makes national news — thousand-acre campuses, hundreds of megawatts — is the hyperscale end of this table. We're the first row.
| Type | Land | Power | Water (annual) |
|---|---|---|---|
| PathOne | Under 30 acres | 10 MW blocks, up to 25 MW | 350K–1.7M gallons |
| Small / Edge | Under 25 acres | Under 25 MW | 3M–17M gallons |
| Regional | 25–100 acres | 25–100 MW | 17M–69M gallons |
| Hyperscale | 100–700 acres | 100–500 MW | 69M–346M gallons |
| Mega hyperscale | 700–1,000 acres | 500–1,500+ MW | 346M–1B gallons |
Rules come first. These are in front of the County now — binding on us and on anyone who builds after us. The Board holds the pen.
Cap project size at 25 MW. Every project requires County approval — no exceptions.
Strict noise limits at nearby farms and homes, quieter building design and sound barriers, downward-shielded lighting, and screened equipment.
Require low-water closed-loop cooling. Fix or pay for any damage to nearby wells. Favor industrial ground and lower-quality farmland over productive acres.
The developer pays for road damage and improvements, utility infrastructure, safety equipment and firefighter training, and independent studies and inspections.
Pay full property taxes. Take no local tax abatement. Make additional community investments, and publicly report water use and promised benefits.
Ongoing public reporting and enforcement, for the life of the facility — not just at approval.
A facility this size pays full local property taxes — roughly 3.9% of building cost every year — and we take no local tax abatement. On jobs: a 10 MW facility is not a jobs program, and we won't pretend otherwise. At full build it supports roughly 10–20 permanent full-time positions at strong wages, plus construction work while it's built.
The big questions get answered here. We're collecting what came up Tuesday night and what gets submitted through this page, and we'll publish written answers to the questions asked most.
The online webinar was held Monday, August 17, 7:00–8:30 PM (Central). Thanks to everyone who joined and asked questions live.
The next in-person meeting is Monday, August 24, 5:30–7:30 PM (doors at 5:00), at the Arthur Community Center, 224 Main Street, Arthur. Same format as our first meeting in Ida Grove. Details on Eventbrite.
Whether you were in the room Tuesday or couldn’t make it, send it in — we read everything, and the questions asked most get answered on this page.
We’re forming a Community Advisory Council — people who live and work in the community, hear project information first, ask the hard questions, and bring their neighbors’ concerns to the table. It’s open to supporters and skeptics alike.
If you need an accommodation to attend, send us a note through the form above and we’ll make it work.
