Data CentersTop story
Cass County, Nebraska, adopts new limits on where data centers can be built
Cass County caps future data centers at 15 megawatts
- 15 megawatts
- cap on electricity use for future data centers
- 1,300 acres
- optioned by Tenaska in June 2025
- 0
- data centers in Cass County right now
Sources: KMTV 3 News Now Omaha, KETV
Cass County commissioners have adopted new regulations on where data centers can be built, how big they can be and how much electricity they can use. The limits are smaller than earlier proposals the county considered.
Data centers would only be allowed on land zoned industrial, including land near Interstate 80 and 238th Street in western Cass County. That doesn't mean one will be built there. The rules just set where a project could go if one is proposed and meets the county's requirements.
- Where: only areas zoned for industrial use
- Power: 15 megawatts, which rules out hyperscale centers
- Moratorium: still in place until August 2027
Some neighbors aren't sold. "It just is not in the best interest of our community, of our county," resident Jeanette Freel said. OPPD took part in the talks and said responsibility for electric service and grid reliability rests with Nebraska's public power utilities.
Cass County's data center rules arrive during a moratorium
- June 2025Tenaska announced it optioned more than 1,300 acres in the county.
- Nov. 2026Commissioners adopted new data center regulations.
- Aug. 2027The county's moratorium on data center construction is set to expire.
Sources: KMTV 3 News Now Omaha, KETV
