Sioux County residents continue to weigh the potential impacts of a proposed data center near Hull as a one-year moratorium on new data centers remains in effect in unincorporated Sioux County. PathOne invited the community to a series of open houses this week during an informational meeting at the Sioux County Courthouse on Monday.
Near the end of Monday’s meeting, PathOne representative Gyles Uhlenhopp said the company wanted to accommodate people who could not attend.
“…We want to make sure we’re available virtually and in person,” Uhlenhopp said. “We’d love to see you out at the site if you can come take a look and see the scope of what this could be.”
Earlier in the presentation, Uhlenhopp described the scheduled events as an open house and invited residents to visit the property. He said staked areas at the site would give visitors a realistic perspective of the potential building’s size.
However, when Sioux County Radio attended the first scheduled open house Wednesday, no PathOne representatives were present. Representatives of H&D Properties, which owns the property, were there to speak with visitors.
Nate Hotzler, speaking on behalf of H&D Properties, emphasized the ongoing moratorium provides a valuable window to establish proper safeguards rather than rushing development.
“I’m more worried that it’s going to be done wrong. They want to do everything the right way, and that’s why they’re having the discussions. Every community is different, everybody has different concerns, and that’s what they want to make sure that they’re covering and not coming in here and disturbing the community.”
Power, Noise, and Water Management
PathOne says, unlike large-scale data centers operated by major tech companies, their proposal centers on a smaller operational footprint. The site currently features existing electrical infrastructure supplying between 10 and 14 megawatts, requiring only minor upgrades.
To keep facilities manageable, PathOne has suggested that county officials adopt a 25-megawatt cap on data center developments.
“In their studies and what they’ve come to find out is that it gives them the most range of finding customers. And it keeps the stuff small enough for the footprint, the impact, the size of the building, the noise, the cooling. It’s all very much more complicated to do, but it’s simpler for the community.”
To keep water consumption lower, the facility intends to run a closed-loop cooling system, operating similarly to a vehicle radiator, that continuously recycles used water.
Tax Contributions and Community Partnerships
Addressing economic concerns, Hotzler highlighted that PathOne is not seeking public subsidies or tax breaks from local government.
“They’re not looking for tax incentives, they’re not looking for tax cuts. They’re not looking to be the cheap way out. They want to do things to benefit the community by paying as much as their fair share of the taxes as they can. They’re saying let’s give back to the community with these taxes.”
Hotzler also clarified previous reports regarding potential end users, stating that while companies regularly reach out to PathOne, no end users are currently lined up.
Residents are encouraged to participate in upcoming community advisory council sessions and contact county supervisors as potential regulations are developed.
Sioux County Radio contacted PathOne to ask why company representatives were not present during the station’s visit but had not received a response as of publication.
Two additional open houses remain scheduled at the site: Thursday from 3 to 6 p.m. and Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
