Status: filed to approved
Google Hermantown Data Center
Google. Approved
Google is behind a data center campus in Hermantown, outside Duluth, that was kept confidential by city officials for roughly a year before the company confirmed its involvement in March 2026, later scaling the plan back to three buildings covering about 1.7 million square feet on a 234 acre forested site, dropping its tax abatement request, and reaching a decommissioning agreement backed by a 210 million dollar parent company guarantee. After the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval on October 20, 2026, the City Council postponed its final vote twice amid large protests before voting unanimously, in a late night meeting on October 30 into October 31, 2026, to approve the development agreement, special use permit, and decommissioning plan. A wetland permit and Minnesota Public Utilities Commission approval of Google's electric service agreement with Minnesota Power remain outstanding, and at least three lawsuits, including one from a group called Stop the Hermantown Data Center LLC, are still pending against the project.
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- Status
- Approved
- Operator
- Applicant on record
- Location
- Hermantown, St. Louis County, MN (approximate, city center)
- Size
- MW not reported, 234 acres, 1,700,000 sq ft
- Cooling
- Not reported
- Utility
- Not reported
- First reported
- 2026-03
- Last updated
- November 2, 2026
What happens next
Still to come: permits and construction. Builders do not always announce a construction start date in advance.
Sources
- Tech giant Google is behind controversial data center proposal in Hermantown, MPR News, 2026-03-03
- Google scales back proposed data center in northeast Minnesota, Star Tribune
- Google's proposal for data center in Hermantown gets feedback from DNR and others, Blandin on Broadband, 2026-09-05
- Google drops tax abatement request for proposed Hermantown data center, Northern News Now, 2026-10-14
- Hermantown, Google reach decommissioning agreement ahead of data center vote, Northern News Now, 2026-10-23
- Google makes concessions as Hermantown data center nears crucial vote, Star Tribune
- Google data center vote postponed in Hermantown following two hours of protests, MPR News, 2026-10-27
- Hermantown City Council passes all six data center resolutions following 4 hours of public comment, Northern News Now, 2026-10-30
- Hermantown approves controversial Google Data Center during late night meeting, MPR News, 2026-10-31
History
Added as filed
Other tracked projects within 25 miles
Ark Duluth Data Center Operator not disclosed
Common questions
Where is the Google Hermantown data center?
It is in Hermantown, St. Louis County, MN.
Has the Google Hermantown data center been approved?
Yes, it has been approved.
How big is the Google Hermantown data center?
Reported size: 234 acres, 1,700,000 square feet.
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