US colocation firm LightEdge is looking to develop a new data center outside Des Moines, Iowa.

The Boone County Economic Growth Corporation (BCEGC) recently signed a Letter of Intent with LightEdge for the purchase of ten acres of land in the Boone Business Park for a colocation data center facility.

LightEdge has submitted a site plan to the City of Boone. The city’s planning & zoning commission has reviewed and approved it for recommendation to the city council. The company will not be seeking any tax incentives from the city.

Boone is a city in Des Moines Township and the county seat of Boone County, some 48 miles (77 km) northwest of Des Moines. Via Edge Boone LLC, LightEdge is looking to develop a facility at 1920 Lakewood Drive.

“We believe this represents an outstanding economic development opportunity for Boone,” Brenda Dreyer, executive director of the BCEGC, said last month. “The project would be located on land that was developed for industrial purposes more than 20 years ago, would make use of existing infrastructure, and would provide new employment and tax-base opportunities for the community. BCEGC and LightEdge are committed to answering residents’ questions directly and openly throughout the process.”

Full details of the project haven’t been shared. On its website, LightEdge said utility company Alliant has indicated that up to 46MW could ultimately be available.

LightEdge said it would begin with a “much smaller power load” that could “gradually scale over many years or even decades,” depending on customer demand.

“Whether the facility ever reaches 46MW, and how long that would take, has not been determined,” the company said.

LightEdge has said the facility will use a closed-loop cooling system to reduce water use.

Founded in 1996, Des Moines-based LightEdge was acquired by GI Partners from the Anschutz Corporation in September 2021. The company operates more than a dozen data centers across Iowa, Nebraska, Texas, Arizona, California, Minnesota, and North Carolina.

The company operates two data centers in the Altoona area of Des Moines, totaling 6.1MW of capacity across 40,000 sq ft (3,715 sqm) of white space.

LightEdge acquired a 3MW data center in Kansas City, Missouri, in April. Full details haven’t been shared, but the site reportedly arrived fully pre-leased.