Three Minnesota politicians claim that Google has intensified its lobbying efforts to change data center laws and tax benefits. Google canceled its last known plan for a data center in Minnesota, a $600 million project in Sherburne County, more than two years prior to this influence effort.
The internet giant will not confirm if it is looking to build a new data center in Minnesota. Regarding its interest in the state and the Legislature, Google declined to comment. Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google, said in April that it will invest $75 billion this year in processing power for its artificial intelligence initiatives, but it also aims to increase the capacity of its data centers.
Legislators, environmental organizations, and consumer activists have met with Google representatives.
The business is requesting more advantageous tax incentives, according to Preston Republican Rep. Greg Davids, who is also the co-chair of the House taxation committee. According to two DFL members, Google is negotiating on other contentious topics, including plans to control data centers’ energy and water usage and require businesses to disclose more details about their business practices.
Davids declared, “They are in the game.” Additionally, Google’s demand coincides with a critical juncture for the state’s data center regulations. Legislators are considering a collection of bills that would establish guidelines for what is effectively a brand-new sector.
The state does have several modest data centers, but none of the size that IT corporations are interested in. The parent company of Facebook is constructing a data center near Rosemount, and at least ten more have been suggested by developers. Additionally, a large number of such developers are pressuring the legislature.
For its planned Becker data center, Amazon wants to relax some environmental restrictions on backup diesel generators. Meta Platforms, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and other developers are represented by the trade group Data Center Coalition, which has openly sought to increase and improve tax breaks for these initiatives. However, some DFLers want to impose additional regulations on a sector they believe would jeopardize state climate objectives, use excessive amounts of water, and operate in excessive secrecy.
One of the biggest tech firms in the world is Alphabet Inc. It has plans to construct data centers throughout the world to assist its artificial intelligence goals, joining competitors like Amazon. Due to the rapidly increasing demand for YouTube, Google Maps, Gmail, and other services, a Google employee informed the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) in October that the company’s energy use has increased fivefold between 2012 and 2023.
By employing Michael Noble, a former head of the well-known climate advocacy charity Fresh Energy and a supporter of Governor Tim Walz, Google strengthened its lobbying position in the Legislature. Google, like the other data center corporations, wants to change the incentives to make equipment purchase refunds an upfront exemption and extend Minnesota’s substantial sales tax discounts for data centers, according to Davids.
