(Radio Iowa)- Developers hoping to build a data center on a partially developed site in northwest Iowa say they’d make use of the property’s existing infrastructure, but Sioux County officials and residents say they still need more answers before the project could move forward. Craig Hoftyzer, a member of the Sioux County Board of Supervisors, says the company indicated it had already found an end user.
“I was just surprised that they were already in the process of starting, or talking about this project,” Hoftyzer said. Representatives of PathOne Data Centers say the project southwest of Hull would be significantly smaller than the large-scale projects that have sparked debate elsewhere — and it would use modern water cooling technology to minimize water use and noise. During a meeting with Hoftyzer and the rest of the Sioux County Board of Supervisors this week, the developers were asked how MUCH water the facility would use and how often cooling systems would need to be replenished.
“Any time there’s a lack of knowledge or not full disclosure, that is enough to cause people to hesitate and have some concern,” Hoftyzer says. Developers acknowledged many details remain dependent on the eventual end user and final design of the facility. Last month, Sioux County supervisors approved a one-year moratorium on new data centers and battery energy storage systems in unincorporated areas of Sioux County. Hoftyzer says this week’s informational meeting should not be seen as a signal county officials are ready to approve the data center project.
“We have no agenda. We are not looking to push anything. We really don’t have an opinion on it,” Hoftyzer said. “They asked for the opportunity to come to talk to us.” The developers say the Sioux County site has a substation that would provide the electricity needed for a data center. The property was originally planned for facility that would manage bio-gas from anaerobic digesters, but that project was never finished.
In 2019, state officials granted nearly three MILLION dollars in tax credits for construction of a renewable diesel and jet fuel plant on the site — but that facility wasn’t built either.
