A MidAmerican Energy spokesperson disclosed the company is involved with a proposed development of a data center during a Salix City Council meeting on Wednesday.
Residents of Salix have attended multiple city council meetings since April to find answers about why so much land has been recently annexed by the city. However they would leave the meetings empty handed and mixed emotions.
Land near the city of Salix is being evaluated for the location of the data center.
As first reported by KCAU, about 100 people filled the room and some expressed concerns about the development of a data center.
Janet Yanak, a Salix resident, asked the city council if a data center is the legacy they want to leave for their future family members or future residents.
According to the agenda, under the new business section a letter from MidAmerican was listed as an item for discussion.
Adam Jablonski, the MidAmerican spokesperson said the company will provide energy to any future customer that takes on a data center project there.
Jablonski stated the project is still in the early stages, adding that once a customer joins the project more information will be available.
He said the company hopes to select a customer soon and that there is not a definitive timeline if the project ever takes fruition.
Kevin Nelson, mayor of Salix, reiterated once more that there have not been any requests to rezone the land.
In April the city council approved the annexation of about 950 acres into the city.
On a similar topic in eastern Iowa, council members in the Mississippi-river town of Clinton have voted down a moratorium on data centers.
With that action, the council resisted calls from residents in a packed meeting Tuesday to block a huge project in the city:
Local concerns arose after QTS Data Centers announced it was considering a project on more than 1,000 acres of farmland in the city’s southwest side.
Residents pushed for a moratorium, an increasingly common tool to delay such projects both in Iowa and across the country. But council member Cody Seeley says it’s the wrong move for Clinton.
Seeley said rather than being 'closed for business," fact-finding about the QTS center should continiue.
He added, "We are willing to work with people and learn about what they can bring to our community.”
QTS has discussed developing a 5-million-square foot campus with a $10 billion dollar price tag.
