Where This All Started

Cass County Facts
1 day ago
3 min read

Where Did the Information About a Potential Cass County Data Center Come From?

As conversations about a potential data center continue in Cass County, we wanted to trace the information back to its original source.

Much of the public discussion surrounding a potential Google data center, Tenaska power plant, and related industrial development appears to trace back to reporting

published by the Flatwater Free Press on March 13, 2026.

The Flatwater Free Press reported that it had obtained confidential documents that were shared during a private January meeting of a Nebraska public power district. According to Flatwater, the documents outlined a potential project involving three companies: Google, Tenaska, and Tallgrass Energy.

According to the documents as reported by Flatwater:

Google was considering a massive new data center in Nebraska that could require between 1,000 and 3,000 megawatts of electricity.
Tenaska was identified as the company that would be responsible for powering the potential data center through a privately built and owned natural gas power plant.
The potential natural gas plant could generate more electricity than Nebraska's largest existing power plant.
Tallgrass Energy was identified in the documents as a potential supplier of natural gas and transporter of captured carbon. However, Tallgrass later told Flatwater that it did not have a partnership involving a new Nebraska data center or Tenaska gas plant.
The documents indicated the project could potentially be operational as early as 2029, although Flatwater emphasized that it was unclear how close the proposal was to becoming a reality.

So, how did Cass County become part of the conversation?

In the same investigation, Flatwater reported that Tenaska had been obtaining options (read more about if land has been sold) to purchase thousands of acres across southeast Nebraska. According to county deed records reviewed by Flatwater, as of March 11, Tenaska had options involving at least 860 acres in Cass County, in addition to land in Gage, Lancaster, and Otoe counties.

This is an important distinction:

The Flatwater Free Press reported on confidential documents describing a potential Google data center and Tenaska power plant somewhere in Nebraska. Separately, public records showed that Tenaska had obtained options on land in Cass County and other southeast Nebraska counties.

At this time, based on the information publicly available to us, there is no formal application before the Cass County Planning Commission or Cass County Board of Commissioners for a Google data center—or a data center proposed by any other company. Google has not publicly announced a Cass County data center project or confirmed Cass County as the location of the project described in the documents obtained by Flatwater.

Tenaska's land options in Cass County are real and documented. The potential Google project described in the Flatwater reporting is also based on documents obtained by the news organization. However, connecting those two pieces of information to conclude that a Google data center has been formally proposed for Cass County goes beyond what has been publicly confirmed at this time.

This is why we believe it is important to trace information back to its original source.

As additional stories, maps, posts, and conversations have circulated, much of the discussion about a "Cass County data center" appears to stem from this initial reporting and the subsequent discovery of Tenaska's land options.

We encourage everyone to read the original Flatwater Free Press reporting for themselves: "Google proposes Nebraska data center requiring more power than all of Lincoln"

Our goal at Cass County Facts is to continue separating what is documented, what has been reported, what has been formally proposed, and what remains unknown.

If a formal development application is submitted in Cass County or Google, Tenaska, or another industrial partner publicly confirms a project, we will share that information and the supporting documents. Please see our blog regarding Nebraska LB1261 and these new types of project.