Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., has announced plans to construct its first data center in the U.S. state of Minnesota, pairing the project with significant new investments in renewable energy generation and battery storage.
The facility will be built on a 480 acre site in Pine Island, a town of roughly 4,000 residents located about 70 miles southeast of Minneapolis. The project marks a strategic expansion of Google’s data infrastructure footprint in the Midwest as demand for cloud computing and artificial intelligence workloads continues to surge.
Under an agreement with utility provider Xcel Energy, the data center will be powered by a combination of newly developed solar and wind energy resources, supported by battery storage systems designed to enhance grid reliability and smooth intermittent generation.
The partnership underscores the growing alignment between hyperscale data center operators and utilities seeking to expand renewable capacity. Large technology companies are among the biggest corporate buyers of clean energy globally, driven by climate commitments and the escalating electricity needs of AI training and cloud services.
Google has previously committed to operating on carbon free energy around the clock by 2030, a target that requires not only purchasing renewable credits but also investing in local clean energy infrastructure and storage solutions. Battery storage plays a critical role in that strategy by allowing excess solar and wind power to be stored and deployed when generation dips.
The Minnesota facility will support Google’s expanding portfolio of cloud services and AI platforms, including enterprise solutions and consumer products. As generative AI adoption accelerates, data centers have become increasingly energy intensive, placing pressure on utilities and regulators to balance economic development with grid stability and environmental goals.
For Minnesota, the project is expected to bring construction activity, long term operational jobs and increased tax revenue. It also reinforces the state’s position as an emerging hub for renewable energy development in the Upper Midwest.
Xcel Energy, which serves customers across several Midwestern and Western states, has been advancing its own clean energy transition strategy. Collaborations with major corporate customers like Google enable the utility to scale new renewable projects that might otherwise face financing or demand uncertainties.
Industry analysts view the announcement as part of a broader trend in which tech companies strategically site data centers in regions offering a mix of land availability, regulatory support and access to renewable resources. Integrating storage with wind and solar projects is becoming a standard feature of new large scale data deployments.
As AI driven services reshape digital infrastructure demands, partnerships between utilities and technology firms are likely to intensify. Google’s Minnesota expansion reflects the dual priorities shaping the sector: scaling computational capacity while accelerating the shift toward cleaner energy systems.
