Amazon Data Services buys site slated for data center near Sherco in Becker

Amazon Data Services recently purchased a 348-acre parcel near Xcel Energy’s Sherco site in Becker where a data center is planned.

Matt Hurst, a spokesman for Amazon Web Services, confirmed the company purchased land in Becker and is “performing due diligence in exploring possible data center locations.”

“We are constantly evaluating new locations based on customer demand,” he said.

Becker officials have not received specific project plans or permit applications.

“We look forward to working on the site development process as we receive more details on the project,” said Jacob Sanders, community development director for Becker.

Seattle-based Amazon Data Services spent $73.56 million to buy the site from Minneapolis-based Elk River Technologies, which purchased the site in April from Xcel Energy for $7.97 million, according to records published with the Minnesota Department of Revenue.

Last year, state utility regulators approved the sale of 348 acres in Becker to Elk River Technologies, a mysterious company that could invest up to $1 billion in a new data center. At the time of that announcement, Xcel said the data center could have 100 full-time employees and create 1,200 building trade jobs.

Elk River Technologies is associated with Diode Ventures, a Kansas-based company serving clients in data center and renewable-energy sectors. The most recent sale closed on Oct. 30.

It’s the second data center planned near Xcel’s large coal plant in Becker; earlier this year, Xcel sold about 295 acres of land in Becker to Microsoft for $17.7 million.

“Working with businesses looking to expand into these communities brings about economic growth and job creation,” said Kevin Coss, a spokesman for Xcel. “As the electric provider for the area, we will be engaged in the site development process and providing the electricity needed to reliably power the site once operational.”

The Public Utilities Commission last year also approved Xcel electricity contracts with Meta Platforms for a $800 million data center project in Rosemount. There were also plans for Google to build a $600 million data center in Becker but Google backed out of those plans in late 2022.

Xcel plans to close three big coal-fired generators at Sherco by 2030. The data centers — along with a large solar farm planned by Xcel — would help offset the economic blow to Becker and Sherburne County. The first generator shut down on New Year’s Eve.

Data centers contain thousands of computer servers that store and process reams of information. They use enormous amounts of power, making them important customers for electric utilities.

About half of Xcel’s new electricity demand over the next five years is expected to come from data centers, which are electricity hogs: A 1,000-megawatt data center is equivalent to the power demands of 1 million residential customers.

Includes reporting from Star Tribune staff writer Walker Orenstein.