LightEdge Plans Colocation Data Center in Boone, Iowa, Eyeing Up to 46MW

US colocation provider LightEdge is advancing plans to develop a new data center facility in Boone, Iowa, roughly 48 miles northwest of Des Moines, as the company deepens its footprint in its home state amid sustained demand for colocation capacity across the Midwest.

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, where the company intends to build a colocation data center. Through an entity called Edge Boone LLC, LightEdge is looking to develop the facility at 1920 Lakewood Drive. The company has submitted a site plan to the City of Boone, and the city's planning and zoning commission has reviewed and approved it for recommendation to the city council. LightEdge has said it will not seek any tax incentives from the city for the project.

Brenda Dreyer, executive director of the BCEGC, described the proposal as a significant opportunity for the community, noting that the project would sit on land developed for industrial purposes more than 20 years ago, make use of existing infrastructure, and provide new employment and tax-base opportunities. She added that BCEGC and LightEdge are committed to answering residents' questions directly and openly throughout the process.

Full details of the project have not been disclosed. On its website, LightEdge said utility company Alliant has indicated that up to 46MW could ultimately be available at the site. The company said it would begin with a much smaller power load that could gradually scale over many years or even decades, depending on customer demand, and that whether the facility ever reaches 46MW, and how long that would take, has not been determined. LightEdge also said the facility will use a closed-loop cooling system to reduce water consumption.

The project comes as colocation operators continue to expand in secondary and tertiary markets to capture demand from enterprises and hyperscalers seeking capacity outside major metro hubs. Founded in 1996 and headquartered in Des Moines, LightEdge was acquired by GI Partners from the Anschutz Corporation in September 2021 and operates more than a dozen data centers across Iowa, Nebraska, Texas, Arizona, California, Minnesota, and North Carolina. The company runs two data centers in the Altoona area of Des Moines, totaling 6.1MW of capacity across 40,000 square feet of white space, and in April acquired a 3MW data center in Kansas City, Missouri, that reportedly arrived fully pre-leased.