LightEdge is evaluating at least two Central Iowa locations for a new colocation data center: a 10-acre Boone Business Park site covered by a nonbinding Letter of Intent and a 10.86-acre Aviation Way site in Ames that remains in a city study. Neither proposal has received final approval, and no construction date or final site selection has been announced.
Two proposals, neither approved
The documented options are different stages of the same site-search process, not two confirmed data centers. In Boone, LightEdge and the Boone County Economic Growth Corporation (BCEGC) signed a Letter of Intent for 10 acres in Boone Business Park. The company says due diligence and the initial LOI work are complete, but several Central Iowa sites are still being considered. Final selection, a formal site plan and city review would come next.
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Ames is considering a potential lease of city-owned property on Aviation Way, directly west of the Sigler Companies property. The City of Ames identifies a 10.86-acre candidate site and is studying zoning, utility service, noise, environmental effects and quality-of-life questions before deciding how to proceed.
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| Issue | Boone Business Park | Ames Aviation Way |
|---|---|---|
| Current status | Signed Letter of Intent; site selection and formal city review remain ahead. | City property under municipal study and policy review; no final lease or approval. |
| Land area | 10 acres. | 10.86 acres, west of the Sigler Companies property. |
| Power plan | Phased concept of 3–46 MW, according to LightEdge’s 2026 project materials. | 3 MW first phase, 6 MW second phase and 25 MW at ultimate buildout over about 10 years, according to the City of Ames. |
| Cooling and water | Closed-loop cooling that continuously recirculates water; LightEdge describes approximately zero gallons per day used for cooling. | Specific cooling and daily water figures have not been stated by the city. |
| Utility upgrades | LightEdge says the project-specific electric-infrastructure cost would be $0 to existing Alliant Energy ratepayers because the large energy customer would pay for required upgrades. | Utility-service options are part of Ames’ review; responsibility and cost allocation have not been finalized. |
| Taxes and incentives | LightEdge says it will not seek Boone city tax incentives and will work with the city on a minimum building-value assessment. | No final tax arrangement has been announced. |
| Employment | BCEGC expects hundreds of construction jobs and a number of permanent operating positions; the permanent total is not specified. | No job estimate has been published. |
What the Boone project would be
LightEdge characterizes the Boone concept as edge colocation for local and regional businesses, banks, hospitals and law-enforcement organizations. That points to a distributed facility serving customers relatively close to their operations, rather than a hyperscale campus designed primarily for one global cloud or artificial-intelligence operator.
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The 3–46 MW range describes a phased buildout, not an immediate 46 MW load. The project page does not provide a final building size, phase schedule or energization date. Those details would normally be established through site selection, engineering, utility agreements and the formal site-plan process.
Cooling design
LightEdge says the proposed Boone cooling system would be closed loop: water would be continuously recirculated instead of consumed in a conventional evaporative process. Its 2026 materials describe approximately zero gallons per day for cooling. That is a sponsor-provided design claim, not a completed operating measurement, and it does not eliminate all water used at a facility for sanitation or other non-cooling purposes.
Electric-grid costs
LightEdge also says required project-specific electric infrastructure would cost existing Alliant Energy ratepayers $0 because the large customer would fund the upgrades. The statement describes the company’s proposed cost arrangement; final responsibility would depend on executed utility agreements and regulatory treatment.
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What the Ames study is examining
Ames has published a staged power concept: 3 MW initially, 6 MW in a second phase and 25 MW at full buildout over an estimated decade. The city’s review is broader than a site check. It includes potential changes to development policy and questions about utility capacity, environmental effects, noise and quality of life.
The city’s posted 2026 timeline records a June staff report and listening session; July discussions about zoning, noise and utility-service choices; August approval of a Data Center Study Committee plan; and appointment of committee members in September. Those milestones show an active evaluation, not permission to build.
Taxes, jobs and the local economic case
BCEGC says the Boone proposal would place an industrial project on land developed for industrial use more than 20 years ago. It expects hundreds of construction jobs, additional permanent operating positions and property-tax revenue for the City of Boone, Boone Community School District, Boone County Hospital, Boone County and Des Moines Area Community College.
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LightEdge says it will not request Boone city tax incentives and will work with the city on a minimum building-value assessment. As a local benchmark, BCEGC reported that LightEdge’s Altoona facilities had a $15.5 million assessed value in 2026 and generated $492,324 in property taxes during the preceding 12 months. Altoona’s figures describe existing facilities and should not be treated as a forecast for Boone.
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How large is this compared with LightEdge’s existing Iowa presence?
LightEdge’s Des Moines-area facility page lists two Altoona facilities at 1435 and 1401 Northridge Circle, together providing 6.1 MW of critical IT capacity and 78,000 square feet. The proposed Boone range and Ames ultimate figure are planning numbers and are not a statement that either new site will match a particular building size or operating profile.
Quick Recap
What has not been decided
- No official source identifies a final selected Central Iowa site.
- Boone has no scheduled City Council hearing date in the project information reviewed.
- Ames has not completed its study or approved a final lease and development plan.
- There is no announced construction start date, final building area, final noise-study result or exact permanent-job count.
- Power figures are phased planning estimates, so actual demand could change with design, customer commitments and utility engineering.
What residents should watch next
- Site decision: LightEdge must identify whether Boone, Ames or another Central Iowa location will advance.
- Formal filings: A Boone site plan and related city applications would make building layout, setbacks and infrastructure easier to evaluate.
- Utility agreements: Published terms should clarify upgrade scope, who pays and how service costs are allocated.
- Impact studies: Noise, traffic, environmental and water documentation will provide more specific answers than the current concept descriptions.
- Approval votes: Local hearings, zoning actions or a city-property lease would be the points at which either proposal moves beyond study.
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