Ames Council hears detailed staff and Light Edge briefing on proposed data center lease at municipal airport

City staff and representatives of Light Edge on June 23 gave Ames City Council an informational briefing on a proposed lease for about 10.86 acres at the James Herman Banning Municipal Airport to build a collocation data center, an exchange that council framed as the start of a community review process.

Assistant City Manager Brian Phillips said the presentation was informational only and that the council had scheduled a June 30 listening session for public comment and asked the city attorney to prepare a memo about options the city could use to regulate data‑center development before the item returns on July 14. "No decisions have been made by anybody and no decisions will be made tonight either," the mayor said at the meeting.

Light Edge described the project as a three‑phase, edge collocation facility: an initial 100,000‑square‑foot shell with electrical demand in phase one of roughly 3 megawatts (MW), an interior expansion to about 10 MW in phase two, and a potential long‑term build‑out of roughly 25 MW in phase three. "This is not a hyperscale AI data center," Matt Begaki, Light Edge chief marketing officer, told the council. "This is an edge collocation facility where we host racks and servers for local and regional customers." He invited residents to tour their Altuna facility as a nearby example.

Utility staff laid out the technical and financial implications. Electric Utility Director Don Kh said the city’s existing distribution can serve up to about 3 MW at the airport site, but serving 10 MW would likely require a dedicated feeder (estimated at about $4 million) and a multi‑megawatt, phase‑three build‑out could require a new transmission‑level substation (rough estimate $12 million and a five‑year planning horizon). "These are preliminary estimates—we would true them up as we know more of the specifics," Kh said. He added that Light Edge has indicated it would pay for required electric infrastructure through an excess‑facilities agreement.

On generation, Kh and staff emphasized that Ames is already planning new local generation (reciprocating internal combustion engines) to replace aging units; the city is not planning to build generation specifically to serve any prospective customer. If a large customer needs capacity, Light Edge could secure ZRC (zonal resource credits) through MISO or operate its own backup generation during regional capacity events; staff outlined the need for an "interruption" or capacity‑sharing agreement for emergency operations.

Staff said the proposal is to lease airport land rather than sell it; under FAA rules, any airport lease revenues must be reinvested in airport operations or improvements. Phillips noted the airport master plan marks the tract as non‑aeronautical and that leasing the property can provide airport revenue to support future projects.

Water and cooling were frequent council questions. Light Edge and staff described a closed‑loop cooling approach that requires an initial fill of water (company estimates roughly a few thousand gallons) but does not use large makeup volumes like open cooling towers. "Other than periodic additions, the demand for water by the building is otherwise typical domestic needs," Phillips said. Light Edge said the closed loop remains inside the system and would only require refill if leaks occur.

Neighbors and council members raised questions about noise, generator testing and frequency, traffic, project timeline and whether the city’s zoning clearly defines where a data center is permitted. Planning staff said existing industrial zones generally allow data centers; staff plans to return with a proposed definition and zoning guidance.

Council members also pressed for clarity about rates and equity. Kh said the electric utility would use customer‑specific rate and agreement structures to ensure costs associated with the project’s service—capacity purchases, special infrastructure, interruption arrangements—are borne by the new customer rather than by existing ratepayers.

The council did not take action on the airport lease or on any utility agreements. Instead it scheduled a June 30 listening session for community comment and directed staff to bring back a city‑attorney report for the July 14 meeting that will outline regulatory options—zoning changes, utility agreements, or a moratorium for further study.

What’s next: the council will hold the June 30 listening session to receive public comment and will revisit the issue on July 14 when it receives the city‑attorney memorandum and other follow‑up materials requested by council members.