Google's plan to build a $600 million data center in Becker is drawing support from both renewable energy advocates and local government officials fretting the impending closure of a large, coal-fired power plant.

 

However, the support of local taxpayers may be harder to attain after Google announced last week they would like Sherburne County and the City of Becker to exempt them from property taxes for 20 years to save the company up to $15 million.

 

Becker City Administrator Greg Pruszinske said Jet Stream LLC, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Google LLC, has applied for a financial incentive from the City of Becker and Sherburne County for the proposed 375,000 square foot data center. 

 

“While the request is to abate the new taxes from the increase in market value due to the new building construction, it is only the City and County portions being requested,” Pruszinske said. 

 

Pruszinske says the school district will also benefit from any increase in taxable value from the project. 

 

“The project will pay nearly $300,000 in school general and referendum taxes annually,” he said. “The abatement request from the city and the county is for 20 years, ensuring a long term legacy tax increase and partnership between both the company and the city and county.”

 

Pruszinske says this partnership will allow for the community to grow and prosper as economic forces change Becker’s society to have a greater reliance on large amounts of data.

 

Sherco has been an important mainstay for the local economy, providing about 300 jobs and three-fourths of Becker's tax revenue. But Xcel is transitioning away from energy sources that produce greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change and has pledged to produce all its electricity from carbon-free sources by 2050.

 

To prepare for the eventual closing of two of the three coal units at Sherco, the city and county have been working closely with Xcel to create a state-of-the-art business park that will draw new businesses and capital investment into the area.  

 

“Our collective goal has been to develop sites that will help facilitate our transition away from a coal-based economy, to a more diversified economy utilizing alternative energy sources,” said Pruszinske.  “The key components of this planning effort have been to take advantage of the power sources immediately available, to bring necessary infrastructure to the area to encourage future growth, and to recruit an industry leader that is willing to develop a facility in the area that could serve as a catalyst for future growth.  The proposed Google project ticks all of these boxes.”

 

In filings with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, Google says the data center could create about 2,300 construction jobs for 18-24 months and at least 50 permanent tech jobs.

 

The PUC will decide whether to approve agreements between Google and Xcel to provide electricity to the data center from two new dedicated wind farms.

 

Sherburne County Administrator Steve Taylor said the county expects to have public hearings on the tax abatement request in mid-March. He said he thinks county commissioners will be open to the request.

 

Among the numerous project backers is Becker Mayor Tracy Bertram, who noted the 50 permanent jobs at the data center would have an annual payroll of $4 million, or an average salary of $80,000. She estimates the project's economic impact on the county will be more than $7 million a year.

 

A Google data center often attracts other major technology-based companies to invest in the same area, Bertram said.

 

“Securing one of the few Google data centers in the country would not only provide an immediate boost the local economy, it would showcase our community and the state of Minnesota as a growing technology and data center market,” she said.

 

The Minnesota Department of Commerce says the project is in the public's interest and is recommending the PUC approve Xcel's petition, but with some conditions. It wants Xcel to offer the same renewable energy options to other large customers that commit to using a lot of electricity.

 

Xcel has requested a decision from the Public Utilities Commission by June 30.

 

“This is an exceptionally important and exciting project, not just for the City of Becker, but also for what it means to the economic vitality of Sherburne County and the State of Minnesota,” said Pruszinske. “We believe the proposed project will have a critical positive impact and a lasting benefit to both our local community, region, and the state.”