Google proposes 650-acre data center in Palo

Google has submitted a request to annex 650 acres of land in Palo, Iowa. The site is located near the Duane Arnold energy center. The company also seeks 100 additional acres to connect the new property to existing city limits. Palo’s planning and zoning commission will review the application on Nov. 9.

The proposed data center would generate $170 million in tax revenue. This amount is projected for Palo, Linn County, and the Cedar Rapids School District over 20 years. Google holds a power purchase agreement with the Duane Arnold plant. NextEra Energy expects the nuclear facility to begin operations in 2029.

Allyson Eastman leads community development for the project. She is forming a local advisory group to guide future benefits. Eastman said the company aims to create long-term partnerships with the community. She noted that Google intends to expand student access to STEM opportunities through schools and extracurricular activities.

Residents expressed concerns about noise, construction, and water usage during a recent open house. Google presented a panel of leaders to address these issues. Kiran Udayakumar stated that the company analyzed more than 100 years of Cedar River data. He said the river has sufficient capacity to support all industries in the region. Udayakumar confirmed that the data center will not use groundwater from bedrock aquifers for cooling.

Linn County supervisors signed a memorandum of understanding with Google this week. The agreement requires the company to pay approximately $250,000 for a third-party water balance study. This study will cover the entire region, including the Cedar River and local aquifers. Charlie Nichols, the county planning director, said the study will clarify available water resources. He noted that the study presented by Google at the open house was internal research focused only on the project site.

Supervisor Sami Scheetz said Google will have no input into the scope of the new study. The company will not see the results until the work is complete. The county expects to receive the study results in March 2027. Google hopes to begin operating the data center campus at the end of 2028.