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Google Palo data center campus

Palo, Linn County, IADeveloper: Google

Also known as Google Duane Arnold data center

ProposedGoogle shifted from unincorporated Linn County toward annexation into Palo; Linn County declined in August 2026 to allow data centers in its EU-2 nuclear zoning district
  1. Rumored
  2. Proposed
  3. Approved
  4. Under construction
  5. Operating

In October 2025, Google told Linn County it planned a data center campus of six buildings on 545 unincorporated acres next to the Duane Arnold Energy Center near Palo. In March 2026 county officials announced Google would pursue annexation into Palo rather than follow the county's new data center ordinance. The county chair says a Google representative described water use of roughly 12 million gallons per day.

Site size
545 acres[2]

Key facts

Size & schedule

Site size545 acres [2]
Source excerpt
“In October, Google informed the Linn County Board of Supervisors of plans to construct a six-building data center campus on 545 acres of unincorporated land adjacent to the Duane Arnold Energy Center.”
Buildings6 [2]
Source excerpt
“In October, Google informed the Linn County Board of Supervisors of plans to construct a six-building data center campus on 545 acres of unincorporated land adjacent to the Duane Arnold Energy Center.”

How big is that? Data center sizes compared with football fields and Central Park.

Water

Water use12,000,000 gal/day [1]
roughly, as described to the county chair by a Google representative
Source excerpt
“Running-Marquardt said when Google first approached the county about its plans for development in unincorporated Linn County, a representative told her that the data center buildings would use roughly 12 million gallons of water per day.”
Water sourceCedar River [3]
Source excerpt
“12 million gallons of water per day taken from the Cedar River”

Figures are as stated by the cited source. Where sources disagree, each figure is shown.

Water and power

Water

Power

Not disclosed. No capacity or power-supply figure is on the record.

Disclosed figures only, each as the cited source states it. Many are projections or permit limits, not metered use. How data center water and power use is measured, and every disclosed figure →

Timeline

  1. Google informs the Linn County Board of Supervisors of plans for a six-building campus on 545 acres [2]

  2. Linn County announces Google will pursue development in Palo through annexation instead of under the county's data center ordinance [1]

  3. Palo passes a data center ordinance; Linn County, which recently began an 18-month data center moratorium, considers allowing data centers as accessories to nuclear plants [4]

  4. Linn County drops proposal to allow large data centers co-located with nuclear plants in the EU-2 zoning district [5]

Issues raised

  • County supervisors say Google is bypassing the county ordinance's water, noise and light protections [1]
  • The shift ended Google's $500,000 commitment to fund a regional water balance study [2]

Issues are concerns and claims raised by the parties, officials or residents named in the cited sources. They are reported as attributed, not as findings by the Census.

Sources

  1. Google eyes data center in Palo to bypass Linn County regulations
    Iowa Public Radio · Mar 4, 2026 · news
  2. Google's Response to an Iowa County's New Data Center Requirements? Annex the Land.
    Inside Climate News · Mar 4, 2026 · news
  3. Google seeks land annexation for data center campus in Linn County, Iowa
    DatacenterDynamics · Mar 5, 2026 · news
  4. Linn County considers exception for Google as nearby Palo passes data center regulations
    Iowa Public Radio · Jul 21, 2026 · news
  5. Linn County will not rezone district near nuclear plant for data centers
    KCRG · Aug 10, 2026 · news

Cite this page

Last updated Sep 23, 2026. Figures may change as records are updated — include the date you retrieved them.

APAData Center Census. (2026). Google Palo data center campus. Retrieved from https://datacentercensus.com/dc/google-palo-linn-county-ia
MLA“Google Palo data center campus.” Data Center Census, Sep 23, 2026, https://datacentercensus.com/dc/google-palo-linn-county-ia.
Linkhttps://datacentercensus.com/dc/google-palo-linn-county-ia

Republishing a figure or table? Attribute it to Data Center Census with a link to this page. The underlying data is downloadable as JSON and CSV; the press kit has standing figures and contact details.