Judge Halts Google Data Center Construction In Pine Island

Pine Island, MN (KROC-AM News)- A Goodhue County Judge has issued an order temporarily halting construction of a data center in Pine Island.

In February, Google announced Pine Island as the future home for one of its data centers.

The project has garnered significant opposition from Pine Island area residents, who've expressed concerns about the impact of a large data center operation on electric utility costs as well as potential environmental issues involving water usage.

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Construction on the data center, dubbed Project Skyway, was scheduled to start in July.

The City of Pine Island granted Project Skyway a conditional use permit that paved the way for construction in January.

Google

Last October, non-profit group Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (MCEA) sued the City of Pine Island and the data center’s developer, Ryan Companies.

The lawsuit, which is one of four filed in Minnesota by the group, aims to stop development of Project Skyway until an additional environmental review is completed.

Goodhue County Judge Grants Temporary Restraining Order to Halt Construction of Google Data Center in Pine Island

In April, the MCEA filed a motion asking for a temporary restraining order seeking to halt construction and preconstruction activities.

The motion argued that the challenge of the environmental review would be moot if construction were to get underway.

The judge issued the ruling granting the temporary restraining order on Friday. Also on Friday, the judge denied a motion filed by Ryan Companies and the City of Pine Island to resolve the lawsuit without a trial.

The rulings halt construction and allow the case to move forward. A date for the next hearing in the case has not yet been scheduled.