Purpose

• Establish a moratorium on issuing new permits for data centers in Minnesota until a comprehensive report from the Public Utility Commission (PUC) is completed. The report is meant to assess various scenarios for data center development and guide future decisions.

Key Definitions

• Data center: as defined in Minnesota statutes, including a qualified large-scale data center (per section 297A.68, subdivision 42, paragraph e).

Moratorium on Permits

• No state or local permit, including conditional use permits, may be issued for a data center until one calendar year after the PUC submits its comprehensive report.
• Deadline for the report: no later than July 1, 2027. If the report is not finished by then, the submission date may be extended to January 1, 2028.

Contents and Requirements of the Comprehensive Report

The report must, at a minimum, include findings on: - Data center energy usage - Data center water usage - Data center metals usage - Localized impacts in communities where data centers exist or could be located - Impacts on federal and state-listed species and species of special concern - Impacts on Tribal Nations, including treaty rights, resources, and cultural practices - How and for what purpose data centers built in Minnesota are used - Local economic impact, including: - Employment - Property taxes - Economic activity - State-level economic impact, including: - Income tax revenue from jobs created by data centers - Tax expenditures (as defined in section 270C.11, subdivision 6) provided to data centers - Other potential economic effects - Identification of suitable locations that minimize residential disruption, limit impacts on residential utility infrastructure, and avoid concentration in one region; considerations include: - Availability and suitability of existing infrastructure to reduce new construction - Cumulative impacts on water use, noise, and light - Identification of other data center–related risks identified through public input (not fewer than two public comment periods)

Consultation and Oversight

• The PUC must consult with Minnesota Tribal governments when creating the report.
• A third-party contractor hired to develop the report must undergo a conflict of interest evaluation to ensure they do not work for or receive funding from a data center developer.

Significance and Changes to Law

• Creates a new statewide moratorium on data center permits until the PUC report is completed, altering the pace of data center development.
• Expands the authority and responsibilities of the Public Utility Commission to study and guide data center development in Minnesota.
• Requires consideration of environmental, cultural, and economic impacts, including tribal rights and public input, in future siting and policy decisions.

Timeline and Next Steps

• PUC must complete and submit the comprehensive report by July 1, 2027 (with potential extension to January 1, 2028 if needed).
• After the report is submitted, a one-year moratorium on new data center permits applies, during which the state and local governments cannot issue these permits.

Relevant Terms - data center - large-scale data center - moratorium - Public Utility Commission (PUC) - comprehensive report - energy usage - water usage - metals usage - localized impacts - federal and state-listed species - species of special concern - Tribal Nations / tribal governments / treaty rights / cultural practices - employment - property taxes - economic activity - income tax revenue - tax expenditures (section 270C.11, subdivision 6) - suitable locations - existing infrastructure - cumulative impacts - noise - light - public comment periods - conflict of interest - third-party contractor - data center developers