Google gets tax break for Cedar Rapids data center but says it's still 'evaluating' plans

The campus-network room at a Google data center in Council Bluffs.·The Des Moines Register
Addison Lathers, Des Moines Register
Updated 3 min read
0

Google is still "evaluating the potential" for a data center complex in the Cedar Rapids area, a spokesperson said Friday after the state signed off on $56 million in incentives for the project.

The Iowa Economic Development Authority board approved the tax abatements for the $576 million project, which has the potential to be the city's largest on record, and revealed that Google was the previously unnamed company behind it. Cedar Rapids approved a development agreement with the entity last month, the Gazette reported, for the construction of one or more data centers on the city's far north side near the Eastern Iowa Airport.

But in an email to the Des Moines Register on Friday, a Google spokesperson said plans have yet to be finalized.

“We are always planning for future capacity needs," it said. "These are complex projects and development of the site is subject to a variety of factors including but not limited to competitive energy rates along with a sustainable and sufficient energy supply.”

The project would create 31 jobs paying at least $31.44 per hour. The IEDA granted Cedar Rapids the ability to leverage the High Quality Jobs program — which provides tax credits and refunds to businesses that move to or expand in Iowa — to give Google a break on property taxes that would otherwise increase with the completed data center's assessed value.

The company's exemption would last for a period of 20 years, an IEDA report said. The state has yet to dole out any funds for the center.

More: Why data centers love coming to Iowa

If Google does proceed, construction could begin this summer, with hiring expected to take place in 2025. The center would be fully functional by 2026.

"We're very excited about the project today, but also for what has occurred and what will occur in Cedar Rapids over the coming years," City Manager Jeff Pomeranz told the IEDA board. "We're really, from an economic development perspective, (going) in a very, very positive direction."

Google's Iowa investments could balloon to over $6 billion

Google first came to Iowa in 2007 with a multimillion-dollar data center in Council Bluffs. In 2022, the company invested another $600 million in its already $5 billion, 1,000-acre complex, bringing its total workforce to 281.

Microsoft and Meta have joined it in Iowa, building data centers in locations including Altoona and West Des Moines. Apple began preparing for construction of a 400,000-square-foot data center in Waukee in 2021.

Factors that make the state attractive to tech companies include an abundance of inexpensive, environmentally friendly wind energy, access to high-speed fiber optic connections and tax incentives.

The IEDA noted that Google's infrastructure requirements have increased as its customer base and demand for services have grown. The company announced earlier in March that it would be investing $1 billion in a new data center in Kansas City, Missouri, with Google executive Monique Picou saying it will play an essential role in supporting the company’s artificials intelligence innovations.

Addison Lathers covers growth and development for the Des Moines metro. Reach her at 608-931-1761 and ALathers@registermedia.com, and follow her on Twitter at @addisonlathers.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Google gets state dollars for $576 million data center in Cedar Rapids

Advertisement

Recommended Stories

  • The world’s biggest 3D printer can a make a house in under 80 hours

    The University of Maine has beat its own world record by creating the largest polymer 3D printer. This new model can print up to 500 pounds each hour.

  • Procter & Gamble selected for offtake from Swedish wind farm

    This is the fourth power purchase agreement (PPA) Renewable Power Capital has signed for its upcoming Swedish wind farm cluster.

  • Shining Too Bright: California's Solar Success Sparks Price Plunge

    California's solar energy efforts have been so successful that renewable energy has powered 100% of the state's main grid for at least 15 minutes on most days over the past month. But now, the state and its grid operator are facing an unusual situation. With an abundance of solar energy integrated into the grid, during bright spring days with reduced demand, electricity prices plummet into negative territory. The surplus of solar power results in gigawatts being "curtailed" or effectively wasted

  • America’s Largest Tree Farmer Charges Into Solar Farms

    Lumber producer Weyerhaeuser says it has struck deals to install solar panels over more than 100,000 acres in 11 states, positioning the country's largest private landowner to become a big player in the fastest-growing source of electricity generation in the U.S. Solar power generation is forecast to increase by a record this year and make another jump next year, to about 75% more than in 2023, the Energy Information Administration estimates. A lot of the new solar panels are being installed on cutover timberland. Weyerhaeuser has several projects in late stages of development.

  • 3 Solar Stocks to Watch Amid Bleak Residential Installation View

    Solid solar installations, along with the Inflation Reduction Act, should drive solar capacity growth in 2024, amid a weak outlook for residential installations. You may keep a watch on ENPH, NXT and CSIQ.

  • Energy Department Gets Power Over Big Grid Projects

    In a bid to fast track grid-infrastructure construction, the department is set to become the lead federal agency coordinating environmental approval of major transmission projects.

  • Schneider Electric Releases All-In-One Battery Energy Storage System for Microgrids

    Schneider Electric today announced a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) designed and engineered to be a part of a flexible, scalable, and highly efficient architecture. BESS is the cornerstone for […]

  • First Solar, QCells and 5 other solar manufacturers seek import tariffs, sparking industry divide

    Four clean energy groups warned the petition would create market uncertainty and pose a threat to the domestic solar supply chain.

  • Chinese EV battery maker CATL unveils LFP battery with 1,000 km range

    Chinese electric vehicle (EV) battery maker CATL on Thursday unveiled a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery with a driving range of more than 1,000 kilometres (621 miles) on a single charge. The Shenxing Plus is the world's first LFP battery boasting such a range, Chief Technology Officer Gao Huan of CATL's e-car division said on the first media day of the Beijing auto show.

  • Trump to set interest rates himself under secret presidential plan

    Donald Trump’s aides have drawn up secret plans to oust the chairman of the Federal Reserve and allow the president to set interest rates, according to reports.