Data center restrictions tracker · Minnesota

Data center moratoriums and restrictions in Minnesota (2026)

Data snapshot 2026-08-15 · part of Pricing the Fear of Data Centers

As of August 15, 2026, this tracker documents 18 local government actions on data centers in Minnesota, across 18 jurisdictions in 9 counties: 17 moratoria and 1 zoning exclusion. By status: 12 in force, 5 enacted, and 1 pending.

At the state level, the state has a ratepayer-protection law (enacted).

Data centers in Minnesota used about 0.6 TWh of electricity in 2024; EPRI, Powering Intelligence 2026 (state-level dashboard) projects 3.7 TWh in its 2030, EPRI medium scenario.

Statewide actions in Minnesota

  • Minnesota: ratepayer-protection law, enactedHF 16 (enacted 2025): very-large-customer rate class due by December 15, 2026, plus a water-use preapplication review for facilities over 100M gallons/yr. Instrument: HF 16. Source: NCSL May 2026 deck (Montana Legislature mirror).

Local actions in Minnesota

Every documented local action in Minnesota in the August 15, 2026 snapshot. Documented actions, not a census.
JurisdictionCountyActionStatusDate
MankatoBlue Earth CountyMoratoriumin forceJuly 13, 2026
Apple ValleyDakota CountyMoratoriumin forceJuly 9, 2026
OtsegoWright CountyMoratoriumpendingJuly 2026
Inver Grove HeightsDakota CountyMoratoriumin forceJune 26, 2026
Inver Grove Heights City CouncilDakota CountyMoratoriumenactedJune 26, 2026
MinneapolisHennepin CountyMoratoriumin forceJune 25, 2026
Le Sueur CountyLe Sueur CountyMoratoriumin forceMay 26, 2026
Minneapolis City CouncilHennepin CountyMoratoriumenactedMay 21, 2026
Wright CountyWright CountyMoratoriumin forceMay 19, 2026
Wright County BoardWright CountyMoratoriumenactedMay 19, 2026
Elko New MarketScott CountyMoratoriumin forceMay 14, 2026
Lonsdale City CouncilRice CountyMoratoriumenactedMay 5, 2026
Waite ParkStearns CountyMoratoriumin forceMay 4, 2026
Waite Park City CouncilStearns CountyMoratoriumenactedMay 4, 2026
RosemountDakota CountyMoratoriumin forceApril 21, 2026
NorthfieldRice CountyZoning exclusionin forceApril 8, 2026
CarverCarver CountyMoratoriumin forceApril 6, 2026
EaganDakota CountyMoratoriumin forceFebruary 17, 2026

Blocked or delayed projects in Minnesota

From the outcome trace of large projects that hit a restriction: what happened next.
ProjectJurisdictionDeveloperOutcomeDecisionClaimed capex
Farmington campus (708MW)Farmington (Dakota County), MNTractpending litigatingNovember 29, 2024$5B
Faribault data centerFaribault (Rice County), MNArcher Datacenterspending litigatingJune 8, 2026
  • Farmington campus (708MW): The city approved the 12-building, 2.5M sq ft campus, but two lawsuits remain active (the resident coalition's, filed Nov 29, 2024, and neighboring Castle Rock Township's); a Nov 13, 2025 ruling denied the city's motion to dismiss the township's suit, with trial expected summer to fall 2026, though the court earlier denied the township's request for a temporary injunction. No construction and no resolution as of Aug 2026.
  • Faribault data center: The Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled June 8, 2026 that Faribault's environmental review of Archer Datacenters' 500,000 sq ft project violated state law, halting the project pending a fuller review. The city council extended Archer's deadline to submit additional environmental information into 2027, leaving the project on hold as of Aug 2026.

What one campus pays a local government

The parent piece's calculator puts a single large campus at $2M to $90M a year in local revenue, depending on the tax regime and abatements. The reference campus (Project Blue scale: $3.6B of capital, 286 MW) pays about $157M to local governments over 10 years. Permanent jobs run around 50 per facility.

Tax regimeReference caseAnnual local revenue, lowAnnual local revenue, high
Aggressive abatementMorrow County OR (enterprise zone)$2M$3M
Partial abatementGeorgia audit representative campus / El Paso Meta$27.8M$56M
Unabated equipment taxVirginia-style rates (Loudoun is the ceiling)$50M$90M

Run your own numbers in the calculator on the parent piece. Jurisdictions in Minnesota that say no give up this revenue, not the jobs.

Sources

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