Officials hope Facebook parent Meta’s data center spurs more Rosemount projects

The water and electrical work being done to feed Meta’s $800 million data center in Rosemount will be available to other future users that want to develop nearby land, officials announced Thursday.

Mortenson is starting construction on the two-year project later this month on land purchased by Meta, parent company of Facebook, from the University of Minnesota for $39.7 million. The site is adjacent to Dakota County Technical College, on the east end of Rosemount.

The project, which in September was estimated to cost $700 million, “positions Minnesota in attracting high-tech investments,” Gov. Tim Walz said at a news conference Thursday at the Rosemount Community Center.

Officials hope the infrastructure groundwork will help spur more development nearby.

The data center will be optimized for an “AI workload,” said Brad Davis, Meta’s director of data center community and economic development.

Minnesota’s commitment to clean energy is helping attract more projects, Walz said. Xcel Energy last month sold 285 acres in Becker to Microsoft that will be home to a data center.

Ryan Long, Xcel Energy’s president for Minnesota, said Meta is paying Xcel for a transmission line and other infrastructure that will feed the facility. That transmission line could also serve other customers in the future.

Data centers and the potential of more electric vehicles are a key reason Xcel is predicting a rare and significant jump in demand for energy on its Upper Midwest system.

The Rosemount center’s usage, Long said, is factored into Xcel’s electricity use plan, currently being considered by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission.

As with all of Meta’s data centers, the Rosemount facility will be powered by 100% renewable energy, Davis said.

Some of that power will likely come from a solar facility built by Flint Hills refinery in Rosemount, the largest of its kind, Rosemount Mayor Jeff Weisensel said.

Meta is funding a water line extension that will help further development along County Road 42, Weisensel said.

The Meta center is receiving sales tax abatements through a state program for data centers and may not be the only light industrial project on UMore land, said Leslie Krueger, the University of Minnesota’s assistant vice president for planning.

Weisensel confirmed that the university and the Opus Group are working to develop another parcel of UMore land but it has not progressed to project stage.