Iowa State University

Brownfield

Ames, Story, Iowa · Iowa State University

Legacy capacity
9
MW

Iowa State University is a natural gas plant in Ames, Story, Iowa, retired 2021-07-01. Retired generation sites are among the most attractive datacenter redevelopment targets: the existing interconnection was sized for roughly 9 MW of generation, so the grid hookup, transmission rights, and often cooling-water access are already in place — collapsing the speed-to-power timeline versus a greenfield build.

Former use & capacity

Former usenatural gas plant
Site typeretired_plant
Existing capacity9 MW
Retirement date2021-07-01
EIA plant ID#54201

Grid hookup & remediation

Nearest substation1.4 mi
OperatorIowa State University
Operator addressRoom 220 Power Plant, Ames, IA, 50011
Why this site is datacenter-attractive: a natural gas plant of this scale leaves behind a high-capacity grid interconnection that a new load can re-use, frequently shaving years off the interconnection queue. Retired-plant sites also tend to be already zoned for heavy industrial use with established road, rail, and water infrastructure.

Nearby datacenter candidate sites

Scored candidate sites near Iowa State University, ranked by DC Readiness.

Candidate sites near Iowa State University
SiteTypeStateCountyVoltageCapacityQueue waitScore
SYCAMORESubstation-AdjacentIAPolk County345 kV600 MW1.4 yrs78.0
BONDURANTSubstation-AdjacentIAPolk County345 kV600 MW1.4 yrs77.7
UNKNOWN131356Substation-AdjacentIAPolk County161 kV100 MW1.4 yrs74.3
UNKNOWN132137Substation-AdjacentIAPolk County161 kV100 MW1.4 yrs74.1
Greenfield (SYCAMORE - BONDURANT)GreenfieldIAPolk County345 kV600 MW1.4 yrs74.1
UNKNOWN173441Substation-AdjacentIABoone County345 kV600 MW1.4 yrs74.1
UNKNOWN132146Substation-AdjacentIAPolk County161 kV100 MW1.4 yrs73.9
ANKENYSubstation-AdjacentIAPolk County161 kV100 MW1.4 yrs73.7

Nearby internet exchanges

See all datacenter sites in Iowa

Dataset updated . Screening estimates derived from public data sources.

Brownfield attributes are derived from EIA retired-generator and EPA public data. Existing capacity reflects the retired plant's historical nameplate, not deliverable interconnection for a new load. Confirm reusable interconnection rights, remediation status, and site availability with the utility, ISO, and current owner.

Go deeper than the public screen

This page shows a public slice of the GridCensus dataset for Iowa State University, Ames, Story, Iowa. Pro and Enterprise plans unlock the full 164,098-site catalog, raw sub-scores, parcel ownership, interconnection-queue detail, saved searches, and programmatic API access.