Improper Redactions Reveal Water, Power, and Tax Refund Data for Google Data Centers

Improper redactions in regulatory filings submitted to Nebraska environmental officials have disclosed detailed resource consumption metrics and tax refund expectations for three Google data centers in the state, as reported via Hacker News (https://www.1011now.com/2026/09/30/more-questions-than-answers-about-lincolns-google-data-center-water-electricity-usage/). The underlying text beneath blacked-out boxes in public documents submitted to the Nebraska Department of Water, Energy, and Environment (DWEE) was exposed simply by highlighting the masked sections and pasting them into separate documents.

The reports were submitted in response to a July 20 executive order from Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen, which established a DWEE Data Center Task Force requiring facilities across the state to self-report infrastructure and resource impacts by Sept. 30. Google sought trade secret exemptions for its water and power metrics under Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 81-1527 and 84-712.05, alongside NAC Title 115, Chapter 2, across its three operating entities: Agate LLC in Lincoln, Fireball Group LLC in Papillion, and Westwood Solutions LLC in Omaha.

The unredacted text reveals that Google's Agate LLC facility in Lincoln spans 288,530 square feet of gross floor area—equivalent to roughly five football fields—and recorded 52.65 megawatts of electricity during peak demand. The Lincoln site also reported consuming 13.299 megagallons of water over the past year across evaporative systems, cooling towers, and site operations. By comparison, that 13-million-gallon volume equals approximately 20 Olympic-size swimming pools and is less than half of the daily volume reported by the City of Lincoln on Sept. 29.

Across the six facilities that submitted data center reports statewide by Sept. 30, aggregate water usage reached 765 million gallons over the past year, equivalent to nearly 1,160 Olympic-size pools. Google's Fireball Group LLC facility in Papillion was the largest single water consumer among them, reporting 547.88 megagallons for its 2025 annual water consumption.

The disclosures also revealed tax refund figures for 2025. Filings indicate that Google's entities utilize or expect to utilize sales and use tax exemptions under the Nebraska Advantage Act, with no rebates received to date and no incentive payments received or expected under the ImagiNE Nebraska Act. However, the filings show expected 2025 tax refunds totaling more than $117.5 million across the three sites: $55,822,472 for Agate LLC, $39,171,573.39 for Fireball Group LLC, and $22,558,881 for Westwood Solutions LLC. A public records request was filed on Sept. 30 seeking official disclosure of the redacted information.