Data center siting snapshot: Pottawattamie County, Iowa

Line miles are measured from the archived HIFLD Transmission Lines layer inside the Census county boundary. Mapped lines are not available capacity.

What the public record shows

The archived HIFLD map indicates approximately 88.8 miles of 345 kV transmission line within Pottawattamie County, with no miles recorded at 500 kV or 230 kV ^[1]. An additional 69.5 miles of 115–161 kV line are mapped in the area ^[2]. Midamerican Energy and Omaha Public Power District hold the most mapped 115 kV+ line miles in the county ^[3]. One named line endpoint touching 230 kV+ lines is mapped inside the county ^[4]. Retail electric utilities with mapped service territory covering part of the county include Midamerican Energy and Nishnabotna Valley REC, though these boundaries are approximate ^[5].

As of 2026-11-09, records show no county- or city-level data center moratorium or ordinance for Pottawattamie County ^[6]. Several Iowa state laws affecting data centers have been enacted, including SSB3103, SSB3001, SSB3151 / HF2357, and HF976 ^{[7][8][9][10]}. The Business Incentives for Growth program explicitly excludes data center businesses from eligibility ^[11]. A bill requiring quarterly water and energy reports and a separate electric service classification for data centers failed in 2026 ^[12].

Drafted by our local model from the numbered facts below, then checked sentence by sentence by a second model and a rules-based check.

Data center rules on record

Rule records come from The MW Desk legislation tracker, which includes rows from the Moratorium Nation dataset by Michael J. Bommarito (CC BY 4.0). Statuses change; confirm with the jurisdiction's own record.

Utilities on record

Midamerican Energy, Nishnabotna Valley REC. (HIFLD/EIA-861 territory polygons; approximate and often overlapping.)

Market context on The MW Desk: Omaha / Council Bluffs, Iowa (Des Moines, Cedar Rapids).

Sources

1. [1] The archived HIFLD map shows about 88.8 miles of 230 kV-and-above transmission line inside Pottawattamie County, IA: 0.0 miles at 500 kV or more, 88.8 miles at 345 kV and 0.0 miles at 230 kV. Source: HIFLD Transmission Lines (archived by SeerAI, CC BY 4.0)
2. [2] The same map shows about 69.5 miles of 115–161 kV line in the county. Source: HIFLD Transmission Lines (archived by SeerAI, CC BY 4.0)
3. [3] Owners of record with the most mapped 115 kV+ line miles in the county: Midamerican Energy, Omaha Public Power District. Source: HIFLD Transmission Lines (archived by SeerAI, CC BY 4.0)
4. [4] 1 named line endpoints touching 230 kV+ lines (usually substations or switchyards) are mapped inside the county. Source: HIFLD Transmission Lines (archived by SeerAI, CC BY 4.0)
5. [5] Retail electric utilities whose mapped service territory covers part of the county include: Midamerican Energy, Nishnabotna Valley REC. Territory boundaries are approximate. Source: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (EIA-861 based; archived by SeerAI, CC BY 4.0)
6. [6] Our records hold no county- or city-level data center moratorium or ordinance for Pottawattamie County as of 2026-11-09. Source: The MW Desk legislation tracker
7. [7] Iowa state/utility level, Iowa: SSB3103 (2026) (Amends economic development framework language referencing data center business eligibility exclusions in related programs). Status: enacted, dated 2026-06-02. Source: Iowa Legislature - Bill History for SF 2301 (91st GA)
8. [8] Iowa state/utility level, Iowa: SSB3001 (2026) (Includes division affecting tax increment treatment of school foundation tax on qualified data center property). Status: enacted, dated 2026-05-18. Source: Iowa Legislature - Bill History for SF 2472 (91st GA)
9. [9] Iowa state/utility level, Iowa: SSB3151 / HF2357 (2026) (Technical and statutory corrections including data center cross-reference edits in tax code sections). Status: enacted, dated 2026-04-16. Source: Iowa Legislature - Bill History for HF 2357 (91st GA)
10. [10] Iowa state/utility level, Iowa: HF976 (2025) (Revised data center and web search portal sales and use tax exemption and reporting mechanics, including limits on future exemption duration). Status: enacted, dated 2025-06-06. Source: Iowa Legislature - Bill History for HF 976 (91st GA)
11. [11] Iowa state/utility level, Iowa: SF657 (2025) (Created the Business Incentives for Growth (BIG) program. The eligibility rules in the new Code section 15.504 require the business to be "primarily engaged in advanced manufacturing, bioscience, insurance and finance, or technology and innovation" and explicitly exclude data center businesses, retail businesses, and certain restricted-membership businesses ("The business shall not be a data center business, a retail). Status: enacted, dated 2025-06-06. Source: Iowa Legislature - Bill History for SF 657 (91st GA)
12. [12] Iowa state/utility level, Iowa: HF2447 / HF2690 (2026) (Would require quarterly water and energy reports, DNR and Iowa Utilities Commission publication, and a separate electric service classification and tariff for data centers to reduce cost shifting). Status: failed, dated 2026-03-12. Source: Iowa Legislature - Bill History for HF 2690 (91st GA)