Google is looking into building a $600 million data center in Sherburne County, Minnesota.

The proposed facility in Becker city was outed in a regulatory filing with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission by Xcel Energy. The regional utility said that it has been working with the state's Department of Employment and Economic Development, the county government, the city of Becker and several other project stakeholders for the past two years.

The data center, the company said, would help Xcel and the area transition from its reliance on the Sherco coal-fired power plant, with two wind farms dedicated to supplying the Google facility.

Xcelling

"By locating there, this project becomes part of the company's journey to mindfully transition a coal-plant environment into a less carbon-intensive, business-oriented area that creates new jobs, results in significant private capital investment in the state and benefits all of the company's customers," Xcel Energy's filing, first reported by Minnesota Public Radio News, said.

"This is particularly true given the proposed data center's unique electric service needs and Sherco's robust infrastructure."

Becker Mayor Tracy Bertram said the city is among several sites under consideration. Google, like other hyperscale data center companies, usually develops several potential data center sites, before settling on one locale.