Annemarije de Boer
Mon, October 5, 2026
Image: KOLN
Key takeaways
Google-affiliated entities in Nebraska had confidential trade secrets revealed in state filings, disclosing data on water consumption, peak electricity demand, and expected tax benefits for facilities in Lincoln, Omaha, and Papillion.
KOLN reported that selecting blacked-out text in state filings submitted to the Nebraska Department of Water, Energy, and Environment recovered figures that Google-affiliated entities had claimed as confidential trade secrets. The disclosure surfaced data on water consumption, peak electricity demand, and expected tax benefits for facilities in Lincoln, Omaha, and Papillion.
The Lincoln facility operates under the affiliated name Agate LLC. State filings had kept the basic resource costs out of public view until this disclosure, according to KOLN's reporting.
KOLN reported that selecting blacked-out text in state filings submitted to the Nebraska Department of Water, Energy, and Environment recovered figures that Google-affiliated entities had claimed as confidential trade secrets. The disclosure surfaced data on water consumption, peak electricity demand, and expected tax benefits for facilities in Lincoln, Omaha, and Papillion.
The Lincoln facility operates under the affiliated name Agate LLC. State filings had kept the basic resource costs out of public view until this disclosure, according to KOLN's reporting.
What the Numbers Actually Show
Agate LLC's Lincoln facility reported 52.65 megawatts of peak electrical demand, a measure of maximum draw at a given moment rather than total annual consumption.
Annual water use at the Lincoln site came to 13.299 megagallons, or 13.299 million gallons, attributed to cooling towers, evaporative systems, and site operations. KOLN noted that figure fills roughly 20 Olympic-size swimming pools and represents less than half of Lincoln's reported single-day city water usage on Sept. 29; those comparisons use different time and accounting bases, so they should be read as illustrative rather than direct equivalents.
The broader state picture is considerably larger. Six Nebraska data centers had submitted reports by Sept. 30, with combined annual water consumption of approximately 765 million gallons; that total reflects only the facilities that had reported by that date and may not represent every Nebraska data center.
Google's Papillion facility, identified in filings as Fireball Group LLC, reported 547.88 megagallons for 2025 alone. That figure accounts for roughly 72 percent of the six-facility total, according to KOLN's account of the recovered documents.
The Tax Figures Behind the Redaction
The same redaction failure reportedly surfaced expected 2025 tax benefits tied to all three Google-affiliated Nebraska facilities.
Figures recovered from the DWEE documents, as reported by KOLN, show Agate LLC in Lincoln expecting $55,822,472; Fireball Group LLC in Papillion expecting $39,171,573.39; and Westwood Solutions LLC in Omaha expecting $22,558,881. The filings attributed these amounts to sales-and-use-tax exemptions under the Nebraska Advantage Act.
The filings also stated that no rebates under that program had been received to date. No incentive payments under the ImagiNE Nebraska Act had been received or were expected, according to the same documents.
Why It Was Redacted, and How It Wasn't
Google-affiliated entities cited Neb. Rev. Stat. sections 81-1527 and 84-712.05, along with NAC Title 115, Chapter 2, to claim electricity and water figures as trade secrets, though the available materials do not establish that each claim was formally adjudicated.
The redaction failed at the technical level: the underlying text remained selectable in the PDF documents. Whether DWEE formally evaluated and approved each confidentiality claim, or whether the agency has since corrected the documents, remains unclear.
KOLN filed a public-records request with DWEE on Sept. 30 seeking the redacted information. KOLN's report did not identify a formal Google response addressing the figures, the trade-secret claims, or the redaction failure.
State Oversight and What You Can Access
Gov. Jim Pillen signed an executive order creating a Data Center Task Force under DWEE to examine water resources, electricity systems, and local infrastructure impacts.
The order, signed in July 2026, also directed state agencies to coordinate review of data-center proposals and their resource impacts. Nebraska residents can view submitted reports through DWEE's Public Assistance Viewer by entering "DCR" in the "DEQ Program" field.
The episode may prompt DWEE to improve redaction procedures and clarify which data legitimately qualify as protectable trade secrets. Whether those standards will change remains an unresolved public-records and policy question.
Finnish town braces for change from Google data centres
Anna KORKMAN
Sat, October 3, 2026
The planned data centres are part of an announced 13-billion-euro ($15-billion) investment in Finland (Alessandro RAMPAZZO)
In the northern Finnish town of Muhos, 36-year-old farmer Joni Pitkanen is preparing for life with a new neighbour -- just kilometers away, tech giant Google is planning to build new data centres.
The planned data centres are part of an announced 13-billion-euro ($15-billion) investment in Finland over the next two years -- the US tech giant's single biggest investment in Europe.
A few kilometers down the gravel road that passes by Pitkanen's farm, the forest has already been cut down on land acquired by Google, with excavators now clearing the ground and rumbling trucks shuttling back and forth to the construction area located next to major power lines.
"The project is so massive that it's basically hard to really grasp, even though we're right here on the sidelines," Pitkanen said, as a few cows dozed in a meadow in front of the barn.
Google's expansion plans include the Finnish municipalities of Kajaani, Muhos and Vaala as well as Hamina, where it already operates a data centre.
The massive investment prompted US President Donald Trump to urge Google to rethink its plans in a message on his Truth Social network.
Pitkanen said he was so far "fairly positive" about the project, as it will bring "large-scale business activity" and "life" to the rural municipality with a population of only around 8,800 people.
"But of course we are concerned about... how we can prepare for the energy consumption," he added.
In his office in the small village centre, Muhos mayor Kimmo Hinno told AFP that Google's "massive investment" kept him busy these days as "no industry of this type" existed here at present.
"This will completely change the situation for the entire municipality and the Oulu region," he said, adding that he expected "thousands of workers" of different nationalities during the construction period -- who will need both housing and other services.
Outside a grocery store, 60-year-old nurse Aila Heilima said she hoped the investment would "motivate young people to stay" in Muhos for work, instead of moving to bigger towns in search of job opportunities.
– Mounting criticism –
But Google's plans have already sparked controversy.
The Finnish Supervisory Agency (LVV) is currently investigating whether company Tuike Finland, which represents Google, had cleared more than 300 hectares of forest in Muhos without a mandatory environmental impact assessment.
"In our view, operations at this construction site should be suspended until it is clarified whether the project is in compliance with the law," Hanna Halmeenpaa, chair of the board of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation, who filed the request with the agency, told AFP at the edge of the deforested area.
"From the satellite images, we've seen that nature sites which should be preserved have also been logged," she added, explaining that the size of the clear-cut area was comparable to 420 football fields.
Google, meanwhile, told AFP in an email that "tree felling activities have been taking place in compliance with Forestry Act requirements" and they "were awaiting further guidance from LVV on this matter."
"We have conducted extensive nature surveys covering the entire area as part of the zoning and Environmental Impact Assessment processes, to ensure high-value nature zones within the sites have been protected during forestry works," said Sondre Ronander, communications manager for Google in Finland.
- Call for regulation -
Finland has seen a spike in data centre investments, with its cool climate and relatively stable and cheap electricity that is mostly produced without fossil fuels thanks to nuclear plants as well as extensive wind and hydro power.
Prime Minister Petteri Orpo's right-wing government has prioritised attracting data centre investments to the Nordic country, which is grappling with record-high unemployment and sluggish economic growth.
But, as dozens of the energy guzzling centres are now under construction and many more planned by companies including Microsoft and TikTok, uncertainty around energy prices, grid capacity and environmental effects have sparked a public debate in Finland.
A citizen's initiative demanding stricter regulation regarding data centre energy use and consequences for the environment gathered more than 50,000 signatures in just three days after it opened, meaning it will have to be reviewed by parliament.
ank/jll/po/rl/cms
Efosa Udinmwen
Mon, October 5, 2026
Key takeaways
Anna KORKMAN
Sat, October 3, 2026
The planned data centres are part of an announced 13-billion-euro ($15-billion) investment in Finland (Alessandro RAMPAZZO)
In the northern Finnish town of Muhos, 36-year-old farmer Joni Pitkanen is preparing for life with a new neighbour -- just kilometers away, tech giant Google is planning to build new data centres.
The planned data centres are part of an announced 13-billion-euro ($15-billion) investment in Finland over the next two years -- the US tech giant's single biggest investment in Europe.
A few kilometers down the gravel road that passes by Pitkanen's farm, the forest has already been cut down on land acquired by Google, with excavators now clearing the ground and rumbling trucks shuttling back and forth to the construction area located next to major power lines.
"The project is so massive that it's basically hard to really grasp, even though we're right here on the sidelines," Pitkanen said, as a few cows dozed in a meadow in front of the barn.
Google's expansion plans include the Finnish municipalities of Kajaani, Muhos and Vaala as well as Hamina, where it already operates a data centre.
The massive investment prompted US President Donald Trump to urge Google to rethink its plans in a message on his Truth Social network.
Pitkanen said he was so far "fairly positive" about the project, as it will bring "large-scale business activity" and "life" to the rural municipality with a population of only around 8,800 people.
"But of course we are concerned about... how we can prepare for the energy consumption," he added.
In his office in the small village centre, Muhos mayor Kimmo Hinno told AFP that Google's "massive investment" kept him busy these days as "no industry of this type" existed here at present.
"This will completely change the situation for the entire municipality and the Oulu region," he said, adding that he expected "thousands of workers" of different nationalities during the construction period -- who will need both housing and other services.
Outside a grocery store, 60-year-old nurse Aila Heilima said she hoped the investment would "motivate young people to stay" in Muhos for work, instead of moving to bigger towns in search of job opportunities.
– Mounting criticism –
But Google's plans have already sparked controversy.
The Finnish Supervisory Agency (LVV) is currently investigating whether company Tuike Finland, which represents Google, had cleared more than 300 hectares of forest in Muhos without a mandatory environmental impact assessment.
"In our view, operations at this construction site should be suspended until it is clarified whether the project is in compliance with the law," Hanna Halmeenpaa, chair of the board of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation, who filed the request with the agency, told AFP at the edge of the deforested area.
"From the satellite images, we've seen that nature sites which should be preserved have also been logged," she added, explaining that the size of the clear-cut area was comparable to 420 football fields.
Google, meanwhile, told AFP in an email that "tree felling activities have been taking place in compliance with Forestry Act requirements" and they "were awaiting further guidance from LVV on this matter."
"We have conducted extensive nature surveys covering the entire area as part of the zoning and Environmental Impact Assessment processes, to ensure high-value nature zones within the sites have been protected during forestry works," said Sondre Ronander, communications manager for Google in Finland.
- Call for regulation -
Finland has seen a spike in data centre investments, with its cool climate and relatively stable and cheap electricity that is mostly produced without fossil fuels thanks to nuclear plants as well as extensive wind and hydro power.
Prime Minister Petteri Orpo's right-wing government has prioritised attracting data centre investments to the Nordic country, which is grappling with record-high unemployment and sluggish economic growth.
But, as dozens of the energy guzzling centres are now under construction and many more planned by companies including Microsoft and TikTok, uncertainty around energy prices, grid capacity and environmental effects have sparked a public debate in Finland.
A citizen's initiative demanding stricter regulation regarding data centre energy use and consequences for the environment gathered more than 50,000 signatures in just three days after it opened, meaning it will have to be reviewed by parliament.
ank/jll/po/rl/cms
Finland strips big data centers of automatic grid priority in a policy overhaul
Efosa Udinmwen
Mon, October 5, 2026
Key takeaways
Finland plans to change its electricity connection system to prioritize smaller projects over large data centers, with facilities of 1MW or less getting priority.
Credit: Getty Images
Finland plans four connection categories, with facilities of 1MW or less getting priority
Large data centers could move further back in Finland's electricity connection queue
Projects above 10MW would enter a separate category under Finland's proposed system
Finland's government has drafted an amendment that would end arrival-order grid connections with rules that give smaller projects earlier access.
The change would place large computing facilities into lower priority categories unless they satisfy additional electricity production and flexibility requirements.
The government says the changes are intended to encourage major power users to reduce pressure on electricity prices and constrained network capacity.
New categories would change connection priorities
Under the proposal, connection applications would be divided into four categories, with each group receiving different priority under the revised system.
The first category would cover connections requiring no more than 3MW, allowing eligible projects to retain year-round processing.
Critical infrastructure would also qualify, alongside storage facilities up to 100kVA and certain storage systems connected directly to power plants.
Data centers would generally be excluded from this category, unless their required connection capacity is 1MW or less.
The second category would include data centers requiring more than 1MW but no more than 10MW of connection capacity
However, those facilities could qualify for different treatment if they provide flexibility agreements covering generation capacity equal to at least 80% of peak demand.
The third category would include data centers above 10MW, which would not face the production commitment attached to projects in the second category.
The fourth category would contain other connection applications that do not qualify for any of the three higher priority groups.
The government expects the proposed arrangement to encourage energy-intensive operators to consider locations where electricity networks face less congestion.
It would also require certain facilities to contribute directly toward local electricity supply before receiving connection priority under the new framework.
Large facilities face additional electricity requirements
For qualifying projects, 50% of their expected yearly electricity use would need coverage from generation located within the surrounding area.
That generating facility would have to begin operating within 36 months before the associated data center becomes operational under the proposed conditions.
The electricity source would also need to remain within the same locality, preventing projects from relying entirely upon generation situated elsewhere.
Data centers would additionally need to make flexible generation or demand reduction available through an organized electricity trading platform.
The flexibility arrangement would require uninterrupted generation capability, with available output reaching at least 10% of the facility's maximum demand.
Projects meeting the first three categories would then enter a common six-month allocation process rather than receiving connections solely according to application dates.
The first allocation under that process is scheduled for December 2027, giving applicants a defined timeframe for consideration.
The amendment is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2027, and could also affect earlier requests without completed connection agreements.
That provision would allow the proposed rules to influence applications already submitted if negotiations have not produced binding arrangements.
Via DataCenterDynamic
Credit: Getty Images
Finland plans four connection categories, with facilities of 1MW or less getting priority
Large data centers could move further back in Finland's electricity connection queue
Projects above 10MW would enter a separate category under Finland's proposed system
Finland's government has drafted an amendment that would end arrival-order grid connections with rules that give smaller projects earlier access.
The change would place large computing facilities into lower priority categories unless they satisfy additional electricity production and flexibility requirements.
The government says the changes are intended to encourage major power users to reduce pressure on electricity prices and constrained network capacity.
New categories would change connection priorities
Under the proposal, connection applications would be divided into four categories, with each group receiving different priority under the revised system.
The first category would cover connections requiring no more than 3MW, allowing eligible projects to retain year-round processing.
Critical infrastructure would also qualify, alongside storage facilities up to 100kVA and certain storage systems connected directly to power plants.
Data centers would generally be excluded from this category, unless their required connection capacity is 1MW or less.
The second category would include data centers requiring more than 1MW but no more than 10MW of connection capacity
However, those facilities could qualify for different treatment if they provide flexibility agreements covering generation capacity equal to at least 80% of peak demand.
The third category would include data centers above 10MW, which would not face the production commitment attached to projects in the second category.
The fourth category would contain other connection applications that do not qualify for any of the three higher priority groups.
The government expects the proposed arrangement to encourage energy-intensive operators to consider locations where electricity networks face less congestion.
It would also require certain facilities to contribute directly toward local electricity supply before receiving connection priority under the new framework.
Large facilities face additional electricity requirements
For qualifying projects, 50% of their expected yearly electricity use would need coverage from generation located within the surrounding area.
That generating facility would have to begin operating within 36 months before the associated data center becomes operational under the proposed conditions.
The electricity source would also need to remain within the same locality, preventing projects from relying entirely upon generation situated elsewhere.
Data centers would additionally need to make flexible generation or demand reduction available through an organized electricity trading platform.
The flexibility arrangement would require uninterrupted generation capability, with available output reaching at least 10% of the facility's maximum demand.
Projects meeting the first three categories would then enter a common six-month allocation process rather than receiving connections solely according to application dates.
The first allocation under that process is scheduled for December 2027, giving applicants a defined timeframe for consideration.
The amendment is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2027, and could also affect earlier requests without completed connection agreements.
That provision would allow the proposed rules to influence applications already submitted if negotiations have not produced binding arrangements.
Via DataCenterDynamic
