Hermantown data center prompts petition to reconsider Minnesota Power sale

DULUTH — Environmental organization CURE asked the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission to reassess the private equity sale of Minnesota Power, given new information about the power provider’s data center plans.

While the PUC was considering the sale, a Minnesota Power employee testified there were no “specific plans related to data centers.” But later data requests related to the controversial data center proposed in Hermantown revealed the company was actively discussing it with city staff.

The Dec. 30, 2025, request from the organization isn’t asking the commission to reverse the sale but rather reopen the record and take further testimony on data center development and protections against conflicts of interest.

CURE was among a broad coalition that fought against the sale of Minnesota Power’s parent company, ALLETE, to two private equity investors — one of which, Global Infrastructure Partners, is owned by BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management firm.

The primary concern was private equity companies’ history of focusing on profit over the long-term financial health of a business.

Private equity recently made headlines with the abrupt closure of home renovation company Minnesota Rusco after it was purchased by another BlackRock subsidiary. The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office is investigating the closure.

CURE pointed to the incident in its petition and said Minnesota Power’s situation deserves additional investigation, given the uncertainty around data centers and the AI bubble.

Global Infrastructure Partners recently announced plans to invest billions in data centers. CURE Legal Director Hudson Kingston said the Hermantown data center is so secretive that no one knows who is proposing the project, but there's reason to think GIP might be involved at some level.

“It’s not a smoking gun. It’s the fact that there’s clearly some information that hasn’t been disclosed that could show a conflict of interest,” Kingston said.

He added the PUC has a unique opportunity to gather more information about the project and how data centers play a role in the Minnesota Power sale.

“Minnesota’s still working on regulation of data centers, and we really don’t have it figured out yet,” he said. “And so to the extent that there are tools at any state agency, the PUC has the best tools, but they’re still not good enough.”

In a statement, a Minnesota Power spokesperson disagreed with the petition and said that the issues raised are not related to the acquisition of a Minnesota Power project.

“We are not a developer of data centers, rather we are responsible for providing power to any customer that locates in our service territory,” the statement read.

“If and when a specific data center or other economic development project reaches the stage where the Company has entered into agreements regulated by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, stakeholders, customers, and the public will have the opportunity to review the project through the normal public regulatory process.”

A September 2024 email from Hermantown City Administrator John Mulder included with CURE’s filing said, “MN Power introduced this project to us.”

Parties have 10 days to formally respond to CURE’s petition, and the PUC will likely put it on an upcoming meeting agenda for consideration.

“I think that this is an important issue for the people of Hermantown, but it’s an important precedent for all Minnesotans and folks in rural parts of the state,” Kingston said.