The governor explained that the state will see a $25 billion investment from the proposed data centers.
June 24, 2026 – Missouri is about to reap billions in data center investments by Big Tech, and the state’s top elected official wants Show-Me State residents to understand the economic importance.
Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe (R) held an artificial intelligence summit to show support for the planned $15 billion and $10 billion data centers built by Google and Amazon, respectively, in the small town of New Florence, Mo.
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The governor hosted the summit on Thursday to address concerns around data centers. Kehoe said the goal of the conference was to provide as much information on data centers, especially as it has become a contentious issue. The governor, along with other panelists, discussed the benefits that centers would bring to Missouri.
The state is seeing billions of dollars invested in data centers, with Montgomery County, Mo., a farm county with a population of 11,460, seeing a $25 billion investment from Google and Amazon, making Missouri a leader in the U.S. for data centers.
Both data center projects are facing backlash from locals. A community group has sued Amazon, alleging officials violated Missouri’s Sunshine Law. In Festus, Mo., voters ousted every council incumbent after officials approved a $6 billion data center.
The Missouri governor has shown support for the proposed data centers because of the investment they bring to the state. According to the News Tribune, Kehoe said, “You have to understand what $25 billion in Montgomery County’s investment is and what it will do for generations.”
The centers will fund any electricity and infrastructure required for the project as required by Missouri’s Senate Bill 4. The governor said, “These companies understand what it means to be good neighbors.” He noted that officials understand and are willing to have conversations about concerns regarding energy affordability, water availability and protecting resources.
The state once was an exporter of energy, but has slowly become an importer of energy, making costs go up. Emily Wilbur, director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Energy, explained that Kehoe has put a plan in motion to help the state become an exporter of energy once again. Data centers would help produce energy, with some of the largest centers exceeding 1,000 megawatts, equivalent to the power needed to run up to one million homes.
Concerns about water were also addressed with officials. Google’s planned data center would exclusively use air cooling, and Amazon’s data center would use air cooling 93 percent of the time and require 50 million gallons of water annually.
Kurt Schafer, director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, and Robin Roberts, CEO of Central Power Systems and Services, explained that most data center developers have become conscious of environmental and energy impacts as publicity around the technology grows and technology progresses. The Department of Natural Resources helps regulate the air and water emissions of data centers.
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