Hermantown council approves Google data center plan after 500 megawatt debate

Residents of Hermantown, a suburb of Duluth with a population of 10,221, will soon share their local grid with a massive new energy consumer. The town’s city council voted unanimously on Friday night to approve Google’s proposal for a hyperscale data center. The project is set to occupy 200 acres of land near Lake Superior.

The facility is designed to draw 500 megawatts of electricity. According to MPR News reporter Dan Kraker, this consumption level is roughly equivalent to the combined residential power needs of Minneapolis, St. Paul, Duluth, and Rochester. This scale of energy use has been a central point of contention for local residents and environmental groups.

The vote came after several delays attributed to vehement local opposition. The meeting itself was limited to 85 attendees, a restriction that frustrated grassroots organizers. The group Stop the Hermantown Data Center argued that the attendance cap limited public engagement during a critical decision. Richard Hilton, a local resident, told council members that the group was angry because the body appeared to represent a corporation rather than the citizens.

"You've changed as little as possible to legally say that you listened," Hilton said at the meeting. "We are angry that our local city council is representing a corporation instead of the citizens that they are supposed to."

Bob Kohlmeier, a homeowner who campaigned against the project, described the struggle as a David versus Goliath battle. "This is our home and we will fight," Kohlmeier said earlier in the reporting cycle. "I think we're gonna win." The unanimous vote suggests the council found the project's benefits or legal requirements outweighed those objections at the local level.

The Friday resolutions represent the last major local hurdle for Google. The tech giant still faces three active lawsuits, minor zoning adjustments, and land ownership clarifications. Final approval from the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission is also required before construction can fully proceed. These remaining steps involve state-level regulation rather than town council decisions.

The data center will be located seven miles from Lake Superior. Google intends to use the site for AI processing and storage. The approval moves the project from a local planning phase to a state-level regulatory phase. No construction timeline was announced immediately following the vote, but the clear path for local permits removes the first major administrative barrier.