Iowa has emerged as one of the most active data center markets in the United States. Low-cost renewable energy, central geography, competitive land prices, and state tax incentive programs have drawn hyperscale operators and enterprise developers alike. 

The new data center projects supporting the transformation in Iowa are Cedar Rapids Data Center by Google, Cedar Rapids Campus by QTS, Ruthenium Data Center, Ginger West and East data center by Microsoft. The upcoming data centers in Iowa continue to expand across multiple counties and cities, with Greater Des Moines as the ninth-largest U.S. data center market, with more than 50 facilities already operating in the metro area.

In this article, we explore the top 5 new data center in Iowa, along with capacity, investment, project stage, and developer details.

List of Top 5 New Data Center Projects in Iowa 2026

Cedar Rapids Data Center - Google

Google’s Cedar Rapids Data Center project is one of the largest upcoming data center expansions in Iowa. The company has committed USD 7 billion to build a new data center campus in Cedar Rapids while continuing expansion at its long-standing Council Bluffs complex, taking its total investment in Iowa to more than USD 13.8 billion.

The Cedar Rapids development is located within Alliant Energy’s Big Cedar Industrial Center near the Eastern Iowa Airport. The site will include multiple data center buildings, with at least five structures planned over several phases. Construction of the first building is expected to be completed in 2026, while additional phases will continue over the next several years to become one of the largest data centers in the US.

The project builds on Google’s existing footprint in Council Bluffs, where it has operated data centers since 2007. Together, these campuses form a dual-location infrastructure network designed to support high-density cloud services and next-generation AI workloads across the central United States.

State and local authorities have supported the development through incentive programs, including tax abatements approved by the Cedar Rapids City Council and the Iowa Economic Development Authority. The project is expected to generate significant construction employment and long-term operational roles, while also strengthening the region’s position as a growing technology hub.

Google selected Iowa due to its access to low-cost renewable wind energy in the US, strong fiber connectivity, and available land for large-scale infrastructure. The company and local officials have confirmed that Cedar Rapids has sufficient power and water capacity to support both the initial buildout and future expansion phases, addressing concerns tied to resource-intensive data center operations.

Cedar Rapids Campus - QTS

QTS Data Centers’ Cedar Rapids campus represents one of the largest private investments in the city’s history, marking its entry into Iowa’s fast-growing hyperscale market. Backed by Blackstone, QTS is developing the project on a 612-acre site within Alliant Energy’s Big Cedar Industrial Center, with an initial investment reported at more than USD 750 million.

The campus is planned as a multi-phase development featuring several large-scale data center buildings. Each phase will include one or more facilities ranging from approximately 300,000 to 1.4 million square feet, indicating a high-capacity design tailored for hyperscale data center workloads. Construction is expected to begin within the next three years, following project approvals granted in early 2025.

The campus will deploy waterless data center cooling technology to reduce resource consumption, alongside broader commitments to carbon-free energy sourcing, materials recycling, and lower greenhouse gas emissions. QTS also maintains a portfolio-wide target to reduce water usage annually, aligning the Cedar Rapids facility with its environmental goals.

Located along 76th Avenue SW, the site strengthens Cedar Rapids’ emergence as a new data center hub, supported by access to renewable energy, available land, and utility infrastructure. The project also sits near another major hyperscale development in the same industrial corridor.

Ginger West Data Center

Microsoft’s Project Ginger West Data Center in West Des Moines stands as a large-scale hyperscale data center development designed to support expanding cloud and AI infrastructure in Iowa. The company is developing the project in Polk County with an estimated total investment exceeding USD 1 billion.

The campus spans approximately 188 acres and is planned to deliver around 1.8 million square feet of data center space across multiple buildings. Initial structures, including DSM 42 and DSM 43, form the first phase of development. Each building carries an estimated cost of about USD 375 million, indicating a phased rollout aligned with long-term capacity expansion.

The facility is designed for a total power capacity of 207 MW, enabling high-density workloads and large-scale cloud operations. Construction began in 2023 and continues in stages, with early phases expected to come online around 2026 and full buildout projected by 2028.

Microsoft, one of the largest data center companies in the world, has integrated sustainability features into the project, including zero-water cooling technology to reduce resource consumption. The development also benefits from local tax incentives aimed at supporting industrial growth and infrastructure investment.

Ginger East Data Center

Microsoft’s Project Ginger East Data Center in West Des Moines represents a high-capacity hyperscale development aimed at expanding the company’s cloud and AI infrastructure footprint in Iowa. The project carries an estimated investment of around USD 1 billion and forms a key part of Microsoft’s multi-site strategy in Polk County.

The campus is planned across approximately 146 acres and will deliver about 1.8 million square feet of data center space. Located near 1475 SE Maffitt Lake Road, the site sits south of Highway 5 and north of South County Line Road, placing it within an emerging cluster of large-scale digital infrastructure developments in the region.

The facility is designed for a power capacity of 444 MW, making it one of the most energy-intensive data center projects in the state. This level of capacity supports high-density workloads, including artificial intelligence and hyperscale cloud services. The project is currently under construction and is expected to become operational in 2027.

Project Ginger East is being developed alongside Project Ginger West, with both campuses planned at similar scale and investment levels. Together, they reflect Microsoft’s long-term commitment to West Des Moines as a strategic hub for its data center operations, supported by available land, power infrastructure, and access to renewable energy sources.

Ruthenium Data Center

Microsoft’s Project Ruthenium Data Center in West Des Moines represents the company’s continued expansion of hyperscale infrastructure across Iowa. The project is planned with an estimated power capacity of 113 MW and is expected to become operational in 2026, adding to Microsoft’s growing cluster of facilities in the region.

The development will span roughly 103 acres near Veterans Parkway, between Woodland Avenue and Southwest 60th Street, in Madison County. Microsoft assembled the site through multiple land acquisitions totaling 111 acres, with purchases from Flinn Farms LLC and Marco Properties LLC for a combined value of approximately USD 15.35 million. The location sits close to the company’s existing Project Osmium campus, reinforcing a concentrated data center corridor in West Des Moines.

Project Ruthenium is currently in the planning stage, following a zoning request filed with the West Des Moines City Council to designate the site for light industrial use. Once approved and constructed, it will become Microsoft’s sixth hyperscale data center campus in the city and extend its footprint across all counties within West Des Moines.

Data Center Investment in Iowa

Several structural factors keep Iowa at the front of national site-selection decisions for data centers. The state ranks among the top wind energy producers in the United States, allowing operators to source power purchase agreements for renewable electricity at competitive prices. Iowa's location near the geographic center of the country reduces latency for services distributed to both coasts. Land values remain significantly lower than those in northern Virginia or the Phoenix metro area, the two largest U.S. data center markets.

The Iowa legislature has maintained an active incentive framework. The Iowa Economic Development Authority administers investment tax credits tied to job creation thresholds, and municipalities have structured property tax abatement agreements for qualifying projects. The Iowa Utilities Commission approved a 61-mile transmission line and the rebuilding of a 34-mile line to serve data center loads, demonstrating state-level infrastructure coordination.

Debi Durham, director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority, noted in April 2025 that the concentration of hyperscale operators has created a self-reinforcing dynamic: "When you have the who's who of the data centers, you put Iowa on the map."

The pipeline of new data center Iowa carries potential capital investment well above USD 20 billion across committed and announced projects. With tech giants QTS, Google, and Microsoft collectively planning or executing some of the largest individual data center campuses in U.S. history in the state, Iowa's position as a Tier 1 data center market in the United States is strengthened.

Conclusion

Iowa data center market has moved from emerging to established, driven by sustained investment from the largest hyperscale and colocation operators in the world. Companies such as Microsoft, Apple, Google, and Meta have secured large land positions and developed millions of square feet of capacity, while new entrants like QTS, Edged, and COPT continue to expand the pipeline across multiple cities.

The sector has reshaped local economies by funding infrastructure, creating jobs, and increasing property tax bases. At the same time, demand for cloud computing and AI infrastructure continues to push developers toward regions like Iowa that offer scalable land, reliable power, and renewable energy access.

Iowa data center has positioned itself as a long-term growth market with more than 6,600 acres under development, over 15 million square feet of data center space, and nearly USD 20 billion in investment since the mid-2000s. The scale of ongoing projects and future pipeline suggests the state will remain a key hub for data center expansion in the United States.

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