Iowa academics launch tool to help localities weigh proposed data centers

Iowa already has over 100 data centers, according to some estimates, with more planned, including several large hyperscalers. Given that pace of development, a team of academics has built a tool to help local communities assess if a data center is right for them.

The Iowa Data Center Decision Tool for Counties, Cities and Communities was designed at the University of Iowa’s College of Law’s Hubbell Environmental Law Initiative, in partnership with the Tippie College of Business Social Impact Community. Those behind the effort said it’s not designed to advocate or against data center development.

Instead, the tool helps local leaders ask important questions about infrastructure, water and energy resources; land use; economic development; taxation; emergency services; and community priorities. It also will help them consider opportunities and challenges, including around economic investment, tax revenue and infrastructure improvements.

This launch comes as an increasing number of communities have shown a reluctance to host data centers, due to residents’ concerns about impacts on water, electricity, noise and land use. Two states — New York and Texas — now have moratoriums on new data center construction until various conditions are met, while voters across the country are set to vote on whether to allow or block the centers in local ballot initiatives throughout this year.

Those behind the tool said localities need to be better informed before agreeing to host a data center, something that is difficult given their limited resources.

“We have 1,000 communities across Iowa, and it's a very rural state with 900 really small communities, and they just don't have large teams of finance experts and attorneys and engineers to do these water studies and energy studies, and to review these agreements,” said Jennifer Terry, director of the Hubbell Environmental Law Initiative at the University of Iowa College of Law. “What we're trying to do is even the playing field and ensure that they have a full understanding of considerations before they sign agreements or get into these talks.”

The tool was first discussed in February and was launched publicly earlier this month. Initially, those driving the tool met with a broad range of people involved in local government to determine how it could be best used. That included elected officials and administrators, as well as utilities and others who would be involved in the planning process for a new data center.

Then, academics built the tool with help from law students and undergraduate interns who researched various laws, data center impacts and considerations. Amy Colbert, professor of management and entrepreneurship in the Tippie College of Business and director of the university’s Social Impact Community, said this kind of project is a good way for higher education to contribute to the discourse around data centers.

“We're good at processing lots of information and putting it out in a usable form,” she said. “It's something that we're going to have to deal with soon in Iowa, and the landscape is always changing. We can't wait until we're certain about things, we have to go with what there is right now.”

The tool is not designed to tell a community whether it should host a data center or not, but instead is designed to be a “conversation starter” that helps local leaders reach a decision, Terry said. And while it is still early days in its usage, representatives at the Iowa State Association of Counties had an opportunity to experiment with it recently, as the effort looks to spread statewide. The tool is “by Iowans, for Iowans,” Terry added, and sorts through the noise around data centers to provide objective details.

“All we did was listen,” she said. “I'm not an expert on data centers or technology per se, but we just listened to what our stakeholders were saying every step of the way. This came from them, and we just helped with the process and helped word the questions and make sure it was a fair and balanced viewpoint from all of our stakeholders.”

More could be to come, too, as conversations around data centers appear unlikely to die down any time soon. Terry said a second iteration of this tool could include a playbook or workbook to help a community go through the entire process. And researchers at the Hubbell Environmental Law Initiative are set to release a white paper on data center development in Iowa later this year or early next.

“It seems that data center development has just moved so quickly that a lot of laws are not up to speed,” Colbert said. “[Some states] now have a transparency law, and I was like, that's the kind of thing that I think our communities wish they had in place, but data centers are coming in and asking to build in towns that really need the revenue. We hope our tool allows those community members to think broadly about the impacts.”