Minnesota Data Center News

Jan 9, 2026

What impacts could new data centers have in Wisconsin? Environmental expert weighs in

WUWM published an interview with Amy Barrilleaux, communications director at Clean Wisconsin, warning about environmental impacts of proposed hyperscale AI data centers in Wisconsin.

Main announcement / findings: Clean Wisconsin cautions that proposed hyperscale AI data centers in Wisconsin could be extremely large (campuses up to 2,000 acres) with power demands over a gigawatt, meaning some facilities may use more energy than all homes in Wisconsin combined; local impacts called out include diesel generator emissions (hundreds to ~1,000 generators tested monthly), large water withdrawals for cooling and power-plant cooling, and potential use of PFAS in closed-loop cooling systems.
Background and context: The article notes tax incentives (WEDC data center sales/use tax exemption) have encouraged development; Clean Wisconsin links approved projects to new gas-plant proposals (some sited to serve data centers), cites Wisconsin household counts (~2.6-2.8 million homes) for scale comparisons, and recommends mitigation measures such as demand response, battery storage instead of diesel backups, renewable energy procurement, wetland preservation, and water reuse practices.

Jan 9, 2026

Environmental AI Governance: U.S. and China Have Different Roads to developing Green AI Systems

Jianyin Roachell argues that the United States and China are pursuing divergent approaches to govern AI’s environmental footprint: the U.S. relies on bottom-up, market and state-level measures, while China uses top-down national planning such as EWCRT and mandates for renewable energy in data centers.

Main announcement/action: The article contrasts U.S. decentralized, market-driven responses with China’s top-down EWCRT (East-West Computing Resources Transmission) strategy that directs new data centers to western provinces (Sichuan, Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Ningxia) to leverage cooler climates and abundant wind/solar; China projects data centers could consume 400 TWh annually (~3.2% of electricity) and the NDRC issued guidelines in March 2025 requiring increased renewable electricity shares for big data hubs. The piece cites concrete projects and deals: Meta’s 20-year PPA for a 1.1 GW nuclear plant in Illinois, local proposals for gas-fired plants by Entergy to power Meta, and the $226 million Lin-gang underwater data center project in Shanghai combining renewables and deep-sea cooling.
Background and other details: The U.S. relies on state tax exemptions (as many as 42 states) and state-level rules (e.g., Virginia 2024 PUE bill; Oregon 2025 water reporting), plus third-party verification like LEED; grassroots protests and state regulatory drafts (Texas, California, Michigan, Minnesota) are shaping policy. Research cited estimates the East-West Data Project could reduce 11,500 Mt CO2 between 2020 and 2050, but China’s grid remains ~60% coal, posing a continued emissions risk unless renewables scale faster.

Jan 9, 2026 · Textile South Asia

INDA and AFS invite abstract submissions for the advances in filtration conference.

INDA, in partnership with AFS (American Filtration and Separations Society), announced a call for presentations for the Advances in Filtration Conference as part of FiltXPO 2026.

Main announcement: INDA and AFS are soliciting abstract submissions for the Advances in Filtration Conference to be held October 28–29, 2026 as part of FiltXPO 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; abstracts must be received by April 3, 2026, and submissions are accepted via the AFS submission portal (links provided).
Event details:
- Date: October 28–29, 2026
- Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
- Submission deadline: April 3, 2026
- Agenda/subjects: Artificial Intelligence in Filtration and Data Center Applications, e-Mobility and Battery Technologies, Nonwoven Media for Water Treatment and PFAS Filtration, Sustainability and Environmental Considerations in Filtration
- Program format: peer-reviewed oral presentations and technical posters, assigned by the Conference Planning Committee.

Jan 8, 2026

Data Center Compliance in 2026: What Changed, What’s Next, and How to Prepare

Data Center Knowledge published a 2025 overview distilling the current compliance environment for data centers, highlighting cumulative regulatory tightening across cybersecurity, AI governance, and sustainability, and noting distinct federal-versus-local dynamics in permitting and operations.

The overview’s primary action: it synthesises 2025 regulatory changes and their operational implications, emphasising transparency for AI workloads (EU AI Act), stricter incident reporting and third-party controls under DORA and NIS 2, and enhanced sustainability reporting under the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) (EED revised in 2023; requires reporting of PUE and WUE). It also documents U.S. actions: a July 2025 federal executive order to accelerate permitting, FedRAMP 20x introduced in early 2025 to streamline agency procurement, and Oregon’s POWER Act enacted in August 2025 establishing a special electricity rate for large power consumers.
Background and concrete details: the piece records tightened audit expectations from ISO 27001 and SOC 2, notes local constraints such as land-use rules, water rights, and grid interconnection queues, and cites specific regulatory outcomes (e.g., Minnesota Public Utilities Commission denied Amazon’s request concerning 250 diesel backup generators). It stresses that permitting simplifications at the federal level coexist with material local approval risks and supply-chain pressures from tariff-driven cost increases.

Jan 7, 2026

Patented: Making a Degradable Ice Straw and More North Texas Inventive Activity

Prive Products of Dallas has received a newly granted U.S. patent for a system and method to make degradable drinking straws from ice, invented by Thomas Surgent (Patent No. 12484726).

Main announcement: Prive Products, LLC — Patent No. 12484726 (Application No. 17609970 filed 05/16/2020; 2026 days app to issue) — describes a system with tubes extending into a reservoir, a connecting bar delivering hot and cold fluid into the tubes, and a resulting hollow ice straw that can cool a beverage as liquid passes through the straw. The abstract states: “A system and method for making degradable drinking straws made of ice (or other frozen liquid(s)).”
Background & roundup details: Dallas-Fort Worth was ranked No. 9 among 250 metros for the week of 12/2/25 with 134 patents granted. The article is a patent roundup (announcement/summary) listing top assignees (e.g., Texas Instruments Inc. — 15 patents), notable grants (Bank of America, Dell, IBM, Verily, Lennox, Halliburton, etc.), and includes patent abstracts, assignees, inventor locations, application numbers and days from application to issue. For partnerships or deals, the article provides assignee and patent filing/issue dates but no implementation timelines beyond application and issue dates.

Jan 5, 2026

Eight Trends That Will Shape the Data Center Industry in 2026

Data Center Frontier (Matt Vincent) publishes a 2026 forecast outlining eight trends that reposition AI-driven power, cooling, site selection, and capital discipline as the central constraints for data center development.

Main announcement/action: The piece presents eight defining trends for 2026 that—collectively—argue AI factories and general‑purpose data centers are distinct classes; AI factories will routinely plan for hundreds of megawatts of firm power, push onsite generation (near‑term: natural gas, mid/long term: nuclear/SMRs), and require liquid cooling, standardized modular designs, and utility co‑architecture to meet compressed timelines.
Background and details: The article documents a shift toward power co‑design with utilities, greater capital discipline (phased campuses, modular delivery, optional expansion), and operational emphasis on reuse, volatility planning, and O&M; it cites analysis from CBRE, JLL, Cushman & Wakefield, Reuters and coverage in The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and Bloomberg as context (timeline: trends framed for 2026).

Jan 4, 2026

Big Tech's Expanding Plans for Data Centers are Running into Stiff Community Opposition

Associated Press reports tech companies and developers increasingly losing local fights over data center projects.

Main announcement: Data Center Watch (a project of 10a Labs) counted 20 proposals valued at $98 billion in 11 states that were blocked or delayed between April and June, representing two-thirds of the projects it was tracking; the article notes major firms (Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Facebook) are collectively spending “hundreds of billions of dollars” on data centers globally.
Background and details: Community opposition is driven by concerns about energy use, water consumption, zoning, and loss of open space/farmland; local examples include East Vincent Township (Larry Shank), Matthews, NC (Mayor John Higdon: “999 to one against”), and Hermantown/Duluth, MN (Mortenson developing for an unnamed Fortune 50 company — Mortenson says it is considering changes). Developers and industry sources (Maxx Kossof, Dan Diorio) report zoning defeats, the prospect of selling sites after securing power, and calls for earlier community engagement.

Jan 3, 2026

Big Tech’s fast-expanding plans for data centers are running into stiff community opposition

Communities across the United States are increasingly blocking or delaying proposed data centers intended to serve AI and cloud computing workloads.

Major local defeats and delays: Data Center Watch (a project of 10a Labs) counted 20 proposals valued at $98 billion across 11 states that were blocked or delayed between April and June; opponents have also forced rezoning losses in states such as Indiana and pulled projects from city agendas (e.g., Matthews, NC). The article cites Microsoft’s securities filing acknowledging “community opposition, local moratoriums, and hyper-local dissent” as operational risks.
Project and developer details / background: Developers and trade groups such as The Missner Group, JLL, Mortenson, and the Data Center Coalition are adjusting strategy—considering selling power-secured sites or increasing early community engagement; one Mortenson project in Minnesota is on hold after internal emails revealed officials knew of the plan a year before public disclosure, and a Matthews, NC proposal reportedly would have funded half the city’s budget.

Jan 2, 2026

State Broadband Bills of 2025: A Legislative Review

State legislatures across the United States enacted and considered broadband-related legislation in 2025; fewer than 140 of more than 600 proposed bills became law.

Main actions: States enacted laws prioritizing infrastructure and permitting reforms, pole and rights-of-way access, criminal penalties for theft/vandalism, state broadband funding, and data center incentives. Notable enacted measures include Hawaii H 934 (established a state Broadband Office and programs, enacted in June and backed by $400 million in combined funding), West Virginia SB 907 (expanded the Economic Development Project Fund to allow up to $25 million annually for broadband incentives and up to $125 million annually for broadband loan insurance) and West Virginia HB 2014 (signed in April; created microgrid districts with zoning/permitting exemptions and special property tax treatment for qualifying projects).
Additional details and timelines: States also raised criminal penalties (e.g., Oklahoma classified willful damage to a critical infrastructure facility as a Class D3 felony with fines up to $100,000 and prison up to 10 years; Louisiana authorized fines up to $50,000 and prison up to 20 years; California AB 476 increased penalties for knowingly buying illegally obtained scrap metal to $5,000). Other enacted programs include California SB 338 (a $2 million telehealth pilot), New Mexico SB 126 (Rural USF increased from $30 million to $40 million), and Oregon’s device support up to $100 in Lifeline-related assistance. At least 37 states passed data center incentives in 2025 and over 1,000 AI-focused bills were introduced nationwide, with ~38 states adopting or enacting roughly 100 AI measures in 2025.

Dec 31, 2025

An FAQ on EQB (or, how environmental review in Minnesota works)

The Minnesota Environmental Quality Board (EQB) explains how the state environmental review program applies to proposed data center projects in Minnesota.

Main announcement/action: The EQB describes the environmental review (ER) process used for projects including data centers, highlighting the Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) and Alternative Urban Areawide Review (AUAR) processes; the EAW is a 13-page worksheet with 22 standardized questions, and both the EAW and AUAR include a 30-day public comment period. The EQB provides technical assistance contact info: 651-757-2873 and Env.Review@state.mn.us, and links to the EQB Monitor and the Environmental Review project database.
Background and details: Responsible Governmental Units (RGUs) prepare and review ER documents and must respond in writing to timely, substantive comments; the AUAR applies to residential, commercial, warehousing, and light industrial development and can preclude further project-specific review if future projects are consistent with the AUAR. The petition route allows citizens to request an EAW and requires describing likely effects plus 100 signatures with mailing addresses from the county or adjoining counties.

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