Microsoft West Des Moines IV data center, West Des Moines, Iowa

Microsoft has built five data center campuses in West Des Moines, Iowa, since opening the first in 2012, and the city council approved an agreement for a sixth campus last year. The company has invested an estimated $5 billion to $6 billion in its West Des Moines data centers, Wisconsin Public Radio reported.

The campuses used 68.5 million gallons of water from West Des Moines Water Works in 2024, about 2.62 percent of the utility's total, and Microsoft was its biggest customer that year, said general manager Christina Murphy. An agreement lets Microsoft use up to 5 million gallons a day, and the company has funded about $25 million in water system upgrades, including a 2 million gallon tank finished in 2023 that serves both the data centers and residents.

Mayor Russ Trimble said Microsoft's arrival has transformed the city, which is now third in Iowa for property valuation, behind only Des Moines and Cedar Rapids. He said the region cannot support more data centers until its power infrastructure catches up with demand. The city has spent more than $200 million on public infrastructure for the campuses, economic development director Ryan Moffatt said.

Neighbors are not all pleased. David Roach, a 62 year old network engineer who lives across from the site of the newest campus, said of the light at night: "I like to refer to it as they're really polluting my dark." Margaret VanGinkel, whose farm faces an existing campus, said: "That's the thing. They just keep building all the time." Construction on the sixth West Des Moines campus is set to start in 2026, Moffatt said.