Construction starts on US$10bn Iowa data centre project

Render of QTS Data Centers’ future facility in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, US. Construction for the first phase is currently underway, with a plan to construc seven buildings total. Image courtesy QTS Data Centers

The 612-acre site at the Big Cedar Industrial Center will be built in phases, with the first phase including site preparation and the initial building due for completion in 2026. Subsequent phases will expand capacity over several years, with plans to construct seven buildings in total.

US-based energy provider Alliant Energy, owner of the industrial park, is providing the power infrastructure.

QTS said the campus will use carbon-free energy and water-free cooling, saving an estimated four billion gallons of water annually compared with conventional systems.

Iowa-based Helix Electric is serving as the electrical contractor and plans to hire about 400 staff, including journeymen, commissioning technicians, foremen, superintendents, and safety managers. Other contractors have not yet been named.

The build is expected to create more than 2,000 construction and permanent. The entire construction project, depending on future phase approvals, could be completed in the early 2030s.

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