Project Loon data center, Hermantown, Minnesota

Hermantown, in St. Louis County, Minnesota, was asked to rezone 220 acres for a data center to be developed by Mortenson Co. for a customer nobody would name. Several city and county officials had signed nondisclosure agreements with the developer, and the project went by the name Project Loon. More than 300 people came to the city council on October 20, 2025, filling the chamber and the overflow rooms. City officials would say only that the customer was a United States based Fortune 50 company. The council voted unanimously to rezone the land from suburban to business and light manufacturing, and the audience stood and shouted "Shame".

Less than 24 hours later the city delayed considering the permits. Assistant city administrator Joe Wicklund explained: "Our approach was, hey, the request is valid. Let's just pause." He said the city would take the next legal steps to see whether the work done in preparation for the alternative urban areawide review met the mark, and that everything was on pause while it took a deep look at the next environmental step.

The project would likely be built in three phases and could reach 1.8 million square feet. The first plans showed four buildings, each up to 50 feet tall and 300,000 square feet, and a first phase costing $650 million. At full capacity it would use 30,000 to 50,000 gallons of water a day. Dan Lessor, a vice president at the developer Mortenson, told the meeting data centers are "critical pieces of our local and national infrastructure", and the city projected $50 million to $100 million in economic stimulus.

Nicholas Rinehart, a resident, put the objection in one question: "Is this the Hermantown we want to become?" A group called Stop the Hermantown Data Center formed against it and petitioned the state Environmental Quality Board, saying noise, light, air and water had been inadequately addressed, with some homes within 350 feet of the site.

On March 3, 2026, Google said it was the company behind the project, which had been dubbed Project Loon, and called Hermantown "a natural fit for this project, offering a climate that supports energy-efficient air cooling, a resilient power grid and a dedicated and motivated workforce." Minnesota Power announced an agreement to supply the campus, under which Google will help fund 700 megawatts of new clean energy, 300 megawatts of wind and 400 megawatts of battery storage; Google did not say how much electricity the data center would use. Stop the Hermantown Data Center and the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy have sued to block it, and the group's Jeffrey Donahue said: "The fact that Google wants to come into our community without completing an environmental impact statement is obscene."

In May 2026 the council heard about three hours of public comment on agreements that would give Google a property tax break estimated at about $70 million and possibly as high as $80 million, in return for about $130 million toward utilities and infrastructure and about $70 million for Hermantown schools over 28 years. Councilors voted unanimously to table the vote, some of them unsure whether the city could approve the agreements while an environmental review and two lawsuits were pending; the city expects three phases over eight to 10 years, with a total investment of around $2 billion. In August 2026 Google said it had cut the campus from four buildings to three and from 1.8 million square feet to 1.66 million, reducing the wetlands and land it would disturb. At its open house that month opponents interrupted the presentation and several were escorted out by police, after the Duluth Monitor published leaked recordings in which Police Chief Jim Crace called an opponent an "idiot"; Mayor Wayne Boucher said the city would ask for an outside investigation. The project still needs city council approval.