Proposed Google data center with Tenaska gas plant (southeast Nebraska)
Also called: Google Southeast Nebraska data center
Private documents show Google may want a huge data center in southeast Nebraska, powered by a new gas plant built by Tenaska. Tenaska has taken options on more than 2,600 acres in four counties. It could need 1,000 to 3,000 megawatts, more than three times Lincoln's summer peak. No site has been named.
Where things stand: Reported from private utility documents. No site picked publicly and no permits filed yet. Several counties paused data centers.
🕒 Latest update (July 13, 2026): Cass County residents asked for a pause; Tenaska has optioned more than 1,300 acres along Highway 75 there.
What we know
- 📍 WhereLand options in Gage, Lancaster, Cass (along Highway 75) and Otoe counties; exact site not public, unknown, Gage County
- 🏢 CompanyTenaska (power plant); Google (data center)
- 👤 Built forGoogle (reported)
- 🌳 Size2,600 acres
- 🔌 Where the power comes fromNew private natural gas power plant built by Tenaska, possibly over 2,700 megawatts, with carbon capture
❓ Still unanswered
Nobody has answered these in public yet. Can you help find out?
- Where exactly would the data center and the gas plant be built? 🙋 I'll find out
- Has Google confirmed it is part of this project? 🙋 I'll find out
- How much water would the data center and gas plant use? 🙋 I'll find out
- Who would pay for new power lines? 🙋 I'll find out
- Did any county or landowner sign a secret deal (NDA)? 🙋 I'll find out
- How many megawatts would it really use? Documents say between 1,000 and 3,000. 🙋 I'll find out
What happened so far
- Dec 2025Tenaska began taking options to buy farmland in Gage, Lancaster, Cass and Otoe counties.
- Jan 2026Documents about the project were shown at a private meeting of a Nebraska public power district.
- March 13, 2026Flatwater Free Press reported Google, Tenaska and Tallgrass were named in the plan. Google and Tenaska did not comment; Tallgrass said it has no partnership.
- March 18, 2026Reporters found a state senator was among the landowners who gave Tenaska an option on land in Gage County.
- May 2026Otoe County paused new data center permits for up to one year.
- July 13, 2026Cass County residents asked for a pause; Tenaska has optioned more than 1,300 acres along Highway 75 there.
Local votes and rules
⏸️ Pause on new data centers
Supervisors passed a 12-month pause on data center permits while the county writes its first data center rules. The planning board had asked for 18 months. An earlier shorter pause was already in place. Most of the 25+ speakers backed a pause.
🚫 Ban
Commissioners said the county will not allow very large 'hyperscale' data centers (at least 100,000 square feet and 25 megawatts or more). Draft rules split data centers into three sizes and ban the largest. The full rules were still being finished.
⏸️ Pause on new data centers
Commissioners voted 5-0 for a 12-month pause on data center permits after a packed hearing. Residents worried about water, farmland and a reported Google and Tenaska plan in southeast Nebraska. The pause does not cover land zoned by villages like Nehawka.
An aerial photo of the area.
Where this comes from
- Google proposes Nebraska data center requiring more power than all of Lincoln · Flatwater Free Press · March 13, 2026
- Nebraska lawmaker among those who optioned land for potential data center project · Flatwater Free Press · March 18, 2026
- Cass County residents push back on proposed data center amid water, farmland concerns · WOWT · July 13, 2026
- A Nebraska county just banned new data centers for up to a year. More could follow · Nebraska Public Media · May 2026
- Data centers are eyeing Nebraska. Here's how counties are responding · Nebraska Public Media · July 2, 2026
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