The City of Hull wanted more information about potential data center development in the area, and that interest led to Tuesday night’s community meeting with PathOne Data Centers.
Hull Mayor Arlan Moss opened the meeting at American Reformed Church by explaining that city officials had begun hearing about potential development near the community.
“Our city council, after we start hearing about the proposed data center coming in our area, asked me to arrange to have an informational meeting in Hull, and I contacted PathOne. They graciously, willingly wanted to have a meeting and come and talk to us.”
Moss stressed that the city has not taken a position on data centers and said the goal of the meeting was to listen, learn, and better understand the issue.
PathOne representatives then spent the first portion of the meeting describing the smaller “edge” data centers the company says it wants to develop. The company said a typical project would begin around 10 megawatts, use a closed-loop cooling system and be built on existing industrial property rather than agricultural land. PathOne has encouraged Sioux County to adopt a 25-megawatt cap along with requirements covering noise, water, lighting and infrastructure costs.
PathOne again emphasized that there is no approved project in Sioux County while the county’s moratorium remains in place. However, representatives acknowledged that they have identified one potential site near Hull and Perkins and have conducted due diligence on the property.
Residents Question PathOne’s Track Record
Much of the question-and-answer session focused less on how data centers work and more on whether residents could trust PathOne to follow through on what it was promising.
Hull resident Greta Grand noted that PathOne itself is a relatively new company.
“I guess my concern is under PathOne. As a newer organization, I have some concerns about like being the guinea pig project. So how can you kind of allay those fears of being one of the first projects?”
PathOne representatives said members of the company have previous data center experience under other business entities and said three projects are currently under construction in Texas. When another resident asked where those projects could be researched, PathOne said confidentiality agreements prevent the company from identifying them. That prompted further questions about how residents could independently verify the company’s claims.
PathOne said that is one reason it wants strict county regulations rather than asking residents simply to trust the company. Representatives also said those restrictions should remain attached to the property even if a data center were eventually sold to another owner.
Power, Water and Environmental Questions
Residents also asked about air pollution from backup generators, disposal of coolant, electromagnetic fields, noise and whether the region has enough electricity to serve a data center without creating problems for other customers.
PathOne said diesel generators, if required by a tenant, would primarily serve as backup during outages rather than continuously generating electricity. The company also said it would support requiring an environmental study as part of the development process.
One resident asked what would happen to coolant when it reaches the end of its useful life. PathOne said it would be collected and transported off-site for treatment. Another Perkins-area resident raised concerns about possible electromagnetic fields from the facility; PathOne said it believes construction and shielding would prevent significant exposure but offered to provide the studies it is relying on.
Northwest REC’s Lyle Korver also addressed concerns about electric capacity. Korver said the potential site already has underused substation capacity and that Northwest REC has discussed load shedding with PathOne during rare periods of extreme demand. He also said PathOne would be responsible for costs associated with transmission upgrades needed for additional growth.
What Would Sioux County Get?
Another recurring theme was what residents would actually gain if a data center were eventually built.
Hull resident Nic Kramer asked PathOne what tangible benefit people would be able to point to years later.
“What measurable benefit should an average resident of Hull or even Sioux County? What could we point at because this was built? Like what benefit, you know, are you bringing to the table here?”
PathOne pointed to property taxes, potential electric-rate benefits and community investment through its foundation and proposed Community Advisory Council. The company also said employment would be relatively modest, generally ranging from about 10 to 25 workers depending on the size of the facility, with positions ranging from facilities work to electrical engineering and other technical jobs.
Sioux County Zoning Director Shane Walter added near the end of the meeting that the county’s eventual data center ordinance would require an economic benefit agreement from any developer.
“Built into the ordinance will be a requirement that there is an economic benefit agreement entered into between the county and this company or any company coming in to build a data center. A part of that would be also a community betterment fund, which would be made available to improve infrastructure throughout the county.”
Walter said that would provide benefits beyond property taxes and employment.
Residents also asked who would use the facility. PathOne said it would prefer local and regional customers such as banks, healthcare systems or other businesses, but acknowledged it could not guarantee that all tenants would be local if outside customers were needed to make a project financially viable.
For now, PathOne representatives said the company is aware of only one potential opportunity in Sioux County, the site near Hull, and any development would have to wait for the county to complete its regulatory process.
