Minneapolis looks to crack down on data centers

A Minneapolis City Council committee new regulations on data centers Monday limiting their size, where they could be built and where their servers would have to be located. The city is already home to eight data centers, but they’re loosely regulated, so unless the council and mayor can agree to regulations, additional data centers could be built in much of the city with few standards. Data centers are being rapidly built nationwide to provide computing power that tech companies need for artificial intelligence. But their heavy demands on water and electricity have sparked backlash from lawmakers and the public, including during the election last week. In March, the City Council passed a six-month moratorium on new data centers, and since then, resistance to data centers has grown, derailing a proposed data center in the Minnesota Star Tribune’s former printing plant. Advertisement About 50 people testified in October during a Planning Commission public hearing on proposed regulations, with a council committee deadlocking 6-6 on a total ban. And over 1,600 public comments have been submitted to the city regarding data center regulations, the vast majority opposing data centers. The backstory: Minnesota cities can restrict the size, location and noise generated by data centers, but cannot restrict the megawatt size, air emissions or heating and cooling systems. Data centers aren’t specifically mentioned in Minneapolis’ zoning code; they’re allowed broadly via permit in 10 of the city’s 15 primary zoning districts, with no specific size limits or standards. How it works: A council committee recommended approval Monday of an ordinance allowing data centers to be added to existing buildings in two downtown zoning districts, but limit their white space, which is the area housing servers and computing equipment, to 150,000 square feet. The full council votes on the measure Thursday.