Nebius is building a more than 2 million-square-foot data center in Independence, Missouri, with phase one targeted to open in the fall.
The city council just approved an electricity plan where Nebius funds a dedicated new power plant and pays pass-through energy prices, insulating local ratepayers from cost shifts.
This is classic AI-era infrastructure: private capital underwriting power build-out to secure long-term, scalable capacity without waiting on public utilities.
A closed-loop cooling design is supposed to limit water impact, addressing one of the biggest sustainability and permitting hurdles for large GPU-heavy sites.
Local concerns center on noise, environmental impact, and property values, with at least one council member still pressing Nebius for more concrete noise data.
Tax abatements during construction are likely, but the city is betting on tens of millions in tax revenue starting around 2028 once the facility ramps.
The piece is useful for understanding how second-tier U.S. markets are structuring power deals and community trade-offs to land hyperscale and AI-oriented data centers.
Source: Independence approves electricity plan for Nebius data center
