Nebraska village pauses data center plans amid bipartisan concerns over land and water use
A 12-month moratorium on new data centers in Cass County, Nebraska, reflects a rare cross-partisan coalition of farmers, environmentalists and labor groups worried about farmland loss, water supplies and rising utility costs.
Cass County officials approved a one-year moratorium on data-center development after local farmers, the state Sierra Club chapter and labor representatives voiced concerns at a town meeting in Murdock, Neb. The small community, with about 275 residents, fears that large facilities could consume significant farmland, strain water resources and increase electricity bills.
Judy Stroy, a fifth-generation farmer, warned that “the amount of ground that’s getting gobbled up every year, our food source is in trouble.”
The pause could affect Tenaska’s proposal to option more than 1,300 acres near Highway 75 for a data center and an associated natural-gas power plant. Tenaska spokesperson Leighton Elise Eusebio said the company is studying the feasibility of power generation for large loads and is open to working with public power and communities.
CyrusOne, which holds about 400 acres near Plattsmouth, has not announced any construction plans. Developers have offered landowners payments far above the typical $10,000 per acre, prompting some farmers to consider offers of $40,000 per acre.
Similar debates are occurring elsewhere. In New Mexico, the $165 billion Project Jupiter data-center complex near the Mexican border has sparked water-use concerns, leading the state Supreme Court to halt well-drilling approvals pending litigation. Oracle, the project’s developer, says the facility will use closed-loop cooling and fuel-cell systems to limit water consumption and has pledged $50 million for local water infrastructure.
Labor leaders, such as Nebraska AFL-CIO president Mike Gage, see the projects as potential sources of construction and long-term jobs, citing an existing data center in Council Bluffs, Iowa, that employs about 60 workers.
National politicians on both sides of the aisle have weighed in. President Donald Trump has promoted data centers as job creators, while a Fox News poll shows a majority of voters—60 % of Republicans and 53 % of MAGA supporters—oppose local projects. Governors in New York, Pennsylvania and Texas have imposed bans or pauses on new data centers, citing environmental and grid-impact concerns.
The controversy highlights a growing trend of local opposition to rapid data-center expansion, driven by worries over agricultural land, water scarcity and utility costs, transcending traditional partisan divisions.