Google Considers Building $600M Data Center in Minnesota

The Google logo on the rooftop of Google China's head office building in Beijing on March 21, 2010. Google stopped censoring Internet search results in China on March 23 in a move that was hailed by rights groups but drew an angry reaction from the Chine AFP/Getty Images

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn—Google is looking into building a $600 million data center in central Minnesota that would be powered by two wind farms.

Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy disclosed the data center project June 10 in a regulatory filing. The Google facility proposed in Becker would mark one of the largest private construction projects in recent state history and create about 50 full-time tech jobs.