This story is made possible through a partnership between Grist and The Flatwater Free Press, Nebraska’s first independent, nonprofit newsroom focused on investigations and feature stories.
Rick Wheatley owns approximately 80 acres of land in Otoe County, Nebraska, an area celebrated for its rich farmland, apple orchards, and Arbor Day festivities, located east of Lincoln. The land, which has been in his family for generations, is partly used to cultivate corn and soybeans. Last fall, Wheatley was approached by a representative from Tenaska, a private energy developer, who expressed interest in purchasing the property.
Wheatley recalled the representative discussing the company’s aim to acquire 2,000 acres near a gas pipeline for a power plant intended to support an AI data center.
“Initially, he let slip that AI requires its own generating stations,” Wheatley recounted. “But then he backtracked.” The representative later mentioned plans for a business park.
“I wondered, ‘Who would build a business park in such a remote location?’” Wheatley said. Ultimately, he opted not to engage with the company. However, he wasn’t the only landowner contacted.
Since December, Tenaska has secured agreements with landowners for over 2,600 acres in southeast Nebraska under two different LLCs, based on county deed records. These agreements give Tenaska the exclusive option to purchase the land. The company did not respond to requests for comment on these transactions.
Documents obtained by the Flatwater Free Press and Grist indicate that Tenaska plans to construct a large-scale natural gas plant to power what could become one of the country’s largest data centers. According to these documents, Google is expected to operate the data center, which may also serve as a significant test for carbon capture and storage—a debated method for managing emissions that remains unproven as a climate change solution.
As in many states, Nebraska is facing a crucial moment regarding energy demand, affordability, emissions targets, and economic growth. A report from the energy research nonprofit Electric Power Research Institute highlights Nebraska as one of seven states where data centers could consume over 20% of total electricity by 2030.
Concurrently, the state legislature is considering a bill to allow privately owned power plants to serve large industrial facilities and connect to the grid. Tenaska supports this bill, proposed by Governor Jim Pillen, and the project’s future may depend on its passage.
Documents shared at a private Nebraska public power district meeting in January reveal that the data center would require between 1,000 and 3,000 megawatts of power from a combined-cycle natural gas plant. At the higher end, this facility would produce more power than the state’s largest power plant.
The project involves three companies: Google, Tenaska, and Tallgrass Energy, which specializes in natural gas and carbon dioxide pipelines. Tenaska, based in Omaha, would power the new data center, with Tallgrass potentially supplying the natural gas and handling carbon transport.
These documents indicate the project could be operational by 2029, though its realization remains uncertain. Google and Tenaska did not respond to multiple inquiries, and Tallgrass denied involvement in a statement to Flatwater.
Kenny Zoeller, director of policy research for Pillen’s office, confirmed that the companies associated with the project participated in discussions leading to the legislation. However, he noted that the state’s public power districts were also consulted.
If the bill is passed, large industrial facilities with private power plants could connect to their local power district’s grid and sell excess power. The public power districts endorse this measure, and the Omaha Public Power District, or OPPD, acknowledges awareness of a potential project affected by the bill, although they do not comment on specific projects. OPPD, Nebraska Public Power District, and Lincoln Electric System stated they only discuss potential customers once they are publicly announced, as these projects often involve nondisclosure agreements.
Zoeller emphasized that the bill was not designed for any specific industry or project but aims to enhance Nebraska’s economic competitiveness without burdening ratepayers with a large user’s power needs.
“Several companies have indicated to the governor and his office that such legislation would make Nebraska an attractive investment destination,” Zoeller stated. “However, no investment is contingent on the passage of LB1261.”
Alphabet, Google’s parent company, is set to increase its data center investments in 2026, planning to spend up to $185 billion on technical infrastructure, as disclosed in its February earnings call. Google already operates three data centers in Nebraska and claims to have supported approximately 13,300 jobs from 2021 to 2023, investing over $3.5 billion in the state’s digital infrastructure since 2019.
The proposed project’s scope is vast, with the data center poised to be among the largest in the nation, according to Kenneth Gillingham, an environmental and energy economics professor at Yale University.
The required power exceeds the 800 megawatts needed at peak summer demand in the Lincoln Electric System service area, making the gas plant Nebraska’s largest power facility. If implemented, the carbon capture and storage component would be the country’s most extensive operation of its kind, Gillingham noted.
“There’s nothing of that magnitude with CCS in the U.S.,” he remarked, referring to carbon capture and storage.
Nebraska operates as a public power state, where current laws allow private fossil fuel power generation but prohibit grid connection. The governor’s bill would enable private developers like Tenaska to produce over 1,000 megawatts of power for large industrial clients, connect to the grid, and sell surplus electricity to local public power districts.
While developers can choose any energy source, Joshua Fershée, dean of Creighton University’s law school, observed that the bill would facilitate fossil fuel generation.
The power plant must be located on or adjacent to the industrial user’s property and approved by the power review board. Private generators must finalize agreements with local utilities by January 1, 2032, and customers must cover all connection fees and costs to the public grid.
In October, Google announced its first carbon capture and storage project for a 400-megawatt gas plant in Illinois, supporting its regional data centers. The Nebraska project would be much larger.
“Google has ambitious net-zero goals, and they have the resources to achieve them,” Gillingham stated. “This would represent a significant investment by Google to determine if it can be done at a larger scale and more cost-efficiently than ever before.”
However, the carbon capture component’s realization remains uncertain. Though documents mention Tallgrass as a potential natural gas supplier and carbon transporter, Steven Davidson, Tallgrass’ senior vice president of government and public affairs, stated the company currently lacks partnerships for a new data center or a Tenaska gas plant in Nebraska.
“While we are not partnered with anyone to build a data center in Nebraska,” Davidson stated, “the state is ideal for investment, respecting local communities, expanding family opportunities, and fostering long-term collaboration to enhance lives.”
Davidson expressed support for the governor’s bill.
In recent months, Tenaska has been identifying land in southeast Nebraska for the envisioned data center and power plant, securing willing sellers, including a state lawmaker.
Senator Myron Dorn, whose district includes Gage County and parts of southeast Lancaster County, signed an agreement with Tenaska earlier this year. This agreement grants Tenaska the exclusive right to purchase roughly 80 acres he owns in Gage County. Dorn said that during discussions, representatives mentioned both data centers and a power plant, as well as a pipeline, but did not explicitly state that the land would house a data center powered by a gas plant.
Dorn, in his eighth legislative year, had not disclosed the potential land sale as a conflict when contacted by the Flatwater Free Press and Grist. He admitted to not having reviewed the governor’s bill and was unsure if his agreement with Tenaska warranted disclosure of a conflict of interest.
“It hadn’t occurred to me. I didn’t realize the bill had progressed so quickly,” Dorn remarked.
Scott Danigole, executive director of the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission, advised that if passing LB1261 would increase the likelihood of the sale, Dorn should file a conflict of interest form before any bill discussion or vote.
Last Tuesday, Dorn submitted a disclosure outlining the agreement and potential conflict of interest. This filing coincided with the legislature’s debate on the bill.
Submitting the form does not prevent the senator from voting. On his disclosure, Dorn explained his decision to participate in the vote.
“My vote is one of 49,” he wrote. “This bill will benefit the entire state and any landowner contracting with a private entity. It is not exclusive to my property.”
The bill passed its first of three votes last week and is now headed to the governor’s desk.
What to know about data centers
Data centers are warehouse-like facilities housing the servers needed to store and process huge amounts of digital information. They’ve existed for decades, but the rise of artificial intelligence over the past few years has triggered a surge in new construction. Here’s some of our latest reporting on the key issues surrounding their development.
This information last updated Feb. 27, 2026
