VAN METER, Iowa — Tech-giant Microsoft has a half-dozen data centers in central Iowa, and recently, they purchased around 415 acres of farmland in Van Meter for about $40 million, to build a seventh.
Van Meter's Vision Park site has been a State Certified shovel-ready site with an intended use of data center development since 2014, the Greater Dallas County Development Alliance told Local 5 News.
Microsoft hasn't shared many details with the public or with the City of Van Meter about the data center, but it will most likely be used to expand advanced artificial intelligence research, on the site south of 360th Street, between two neighborhood developments.
Since the company purchased the acreage, the Van Meter community has had mixed reactions.
Some residents have mentioned the need for commercial businesses, the support this project will have on the commercial tax base and benefit for the city's schools.
Opponents of the data center argue the facility will add light pollution to the city, and some are concerned about the amount of water these data centers use to cool their equipment.
In response to these issues, Mayor Joe Herman a Van Meter-native, said the city has ordinances to require "down lighting" once the project gets going into its "planning process" in the next few months, and there's been discussion among metro cities about certain technologies to limit usage of water for tech giants.
With all that said, Herman said he wouldn't be on board with the Microsoft data center project if he didn't think it was a good idea for the city, adding: "I think in the long run, it will be a benefit to our community."
“Datacenters are large-scale, complex projects, and we are just getting started on this one to expand Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure in Iowa," said Bowen Wallace, Microsoft's vice president of Cloud Innovations and Operations in the Americas. "Our goal is always to benefit the communities in which we operate, and we will be working with local leaders to make sure our water and energy use is sustainable.”
There are currently five Microsoft data centers in West Des Moines, and a sixth is still in the planning stage.