Building the 21st-century economy: Xcel Energy to power new Meta data center
Xcel Energy shares Meta’s vision for carbon-free future and local investment
“We understand that Minnesotans benefit when industry leaders choose their communities as the place to locate their facilities, and we are excited to provide the energy Meta needs to power its new data center,” said Ryan Long, president, Xcel Energy – Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. “We also share Meta’s vision of a carbon-free future, which is why we are helping them reach their goal of 100% renewable energy for their operations.”
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz welcomed Meta and its new data center at an announcement event on March 14, 2024.
In addition to providing reliable, affordable service, Xcel Energy is committed to investing in economic development to help the communities we serve become stronger and more vibrant. The Meta data center will represent an investment of more than $800 million in the local economy and will support approximately 1,000 jobs during construction as well as 100 jobs once completed.
Meta is also working with Xcel Energy to bring energy upgrades to UMore Park, the site of the new data center, including new transmission lines. These upgrades and extensions to serve the data center are paid for by Meta — not spread out as a cost to our other customers. Adding new industrial customers to the grid can also allow us to use our system more efficiently, spreading fixed costs such as infrastructure maintenance across a larger number of customers and lowering individual bills for all customers.
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission has already approved the agreement between Xcel Energy and Meta to supply power to the site – including a provision that Meta will contribute to Xcel's diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, making monthly contributions based on their energy use. The data center is estimated to open in late summer of 2025.