On Tuesday, the Nobles County Board of Commissioners voted 3-2 against a zoning change that would have allowed data centers in agricultural preservation districts, effectively cutting off a proposed $4 billion data center campus at the knees. The board sided with its planning commission and left the current ordinance unchanged, meaning the project cannot move forward at the targeted site unless county rules are rewritten. The boardroom was packed, and residents erupted in cheers as months of tension over farmland, water, and energy use came to a head.
According to the Minnesota Star Tribune, commissioners said they had been hearing intense pushback from constituents, a sentiment that was hard to miss in the standing-room crowd that applauded when the vote was tallied. The Star Tribune reported that Geronimo Power had already purchased roughly 640 acres near Brewster and Reading and pitched a massive, phased plan that bundled three wind projects with the data center complex. The company said construction could start as early as 2027, although it acknowledged that permitting and transmission work would control the actual timeline.
Local Meeting And The AUAR Process
The Worthington Globe described the meeting as shoulder-to-shoulder, with residents lining the walls as county leaders weighed the zoning request. County Attorney Braden Hoefert told commissioners the land is currently zoned as agricultural preservation, a designation that does not allow data centers. The Globe reported that the county had already drafted an Alternative Urban Areawide Review (AUAR) and a related scoping document, which could be submitted to the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board and opened for a 30-day public comment period if the county chooses to publish them. That environmental review path technically remains available even though the zoning change has been denied.
Geronimo's Numbers
In its own economic impact study, Geronimo Power projected thousands of construction jobs during the build-out, including about 1,400 jobs in 2027 and a peak of nearly 1,870 in 2028. The report estimated roughly 86 permanent, high-wage jobs once the campus was fully operating and forecast a substantial jump in local property tax revenue. Total annual tax impacts were pegged at around $12.8 million to $14.6 million after accounting for indirect effects, with the county’s direct share estimated at roughly $7 million per year. Geronimo has said the data center would be paired with wind, solar, and battery projects intended to supply much of the facility’s power, a key part of its pitch that the project would fit into a clean energy future.
Bring Me The News reported that the board’s vote upheld the planning commission’s earlier recommendation and that Geronimo is now looking at alternative sites after the defeat in Nobles County. The outlet also noted that the company had publicly touted more than 1,000 short-term construction jobs and over 85 permanent roles, numbers that closely mirror the figures laid out in the developer’s economic analyses.
What This Means For Permitting
The board’s decision keeps the status quo in place: data centers are not a permitted use in agricultural preservation districts unless the county later amends its ordinance or a landowner successfully pursues a rezoning. County meeting agendas and prior board materials indicate that the AUAR and its scoping documents are still positioned for potential review by the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board. If the county publishes them, that step would trigger a formal public comment period and inter-governmental review. In practice, that means technical studies and hearings could still unfold, but the data center campus on Geronimo’s purchased land would still need a zoning change before it could advance.
Why Neighbors Pushed Back
Opponents, many of them farmers, urged commissioners to protect productive cropland and preserve the county’s rural character. They raised concerns about noise, visual impacts and the potential strain on local water supplies and transmission infrastructure. The Star Tribune reported that residents organized around the issue, submitted hundreds of comments to local officials and argued that the mega-campus felt out of scale with existing roads, utilities, and housing. Supporters countered that the project could deliver a surge in tax revenue and help fund infrastructure upgrades, but several commissioners said the sheer volume of local opposition ultimately carried more weight.
Next Steps
Company leaders have said they will now look at other communities that have shown interest in hosting a large data center complex, while Nobles County staff and commissioners decide whether to publish the AUAR materials and open a formal comment period. Geronimo’s planning documents showed that some elements of the project, such as a construction substation, were aimed for 2027, with certain renewable energy components planned for 2028. Those timelines are now uncertain after the zoning vote. If the developer returns with a revised proposal in Nobles County, it would still have to run the usual permitting gauntlet and undergo another round of public scrutiny.
The Nobles County decision has quickly become a case study in how rural communities weigh promises of jobs and tax dollars against concerns about farmland, natural resources and local control. State regulators and neighboring counties are likely to watch what Geronimo does next, whether that means pivoting to a new location or retooling its approach. Either path will offer fresh clues about how Minnesota navigates growing demand for big-tech infrastructure while trying to honor small-town priorities.
