Nebius x Independence, Missouri

We are evaluating a site along Rte. 78 and Little Blue Parkway for a multi-building data center campus with a total capacity of up to 1.2 GW. The initial phase would represent a multi-billion-dollar investment and create hundreds of skilled construction jobs, along with approximately 130 permanent high-tech positions once fully built.

The project would connect to Independence Power & Light (IPL), the city’s municipally owned utility. The city has already approved phase one of a new power plant to add local generation, and a planned phase two would directly support this project. With new generation coming online, IPL’s municipal structure, and our commitment to covering our full power needs, the project would not impact residential rates.

In fact, city leaders note that adding a large industrial customer to IPL’s largely residential customer base could help spread fixed system costs across more energy use, easing pressure on rates for existing customers.

We are planning to use a closed-loop or other similarly low-consumption cooling systems, consistent with the approach used at our other facilities. While final numbers will depend on detailed engineering, our intent is to operate with very low ongoing consumptive water use similar to that of a restaurant or office building.

Nebius has received approval from the Independence City Council on the Chapter 100 industrial development incentive plan application, which is very typical for data center and advanced manufacturing projects of this scale in Missouri. We will continue to work closely with City Staff, the council, Independence School District and Ft. Osage School Districts, and Mid-Continent Library to ensure our project delivers significant benefits for the community.

We are proud to partner with ARCO Construction as our general contractor for the project’s Phase 1 and expect our workforce to comprise at least 85% local Building Trades. Construction is expected to take place in phases, and we are taking proactive measures to minimize disruption to the community during this time, such as deploying dust control solutions, adding additional signage to re-reroute construction traffic, shift scheduling to manage traffic, especially around school drop-off and pick-up time, and evaluating road improvements post-construction.

Nebius is committed to being a responsible, long-term partner in the communities where we operate. We have begun meeting with city staff, council members, the Independence Chamber, MCC, and local school districts to share our vision for Independence and discuss how we can be a strong community partner. In those conversations, we presented an initial community benefits plan focused on education and community well-being.

We’re also establishing a Community Engagement Panel comprised of local residents, businesses and leaders. The panel will meet regularly and serve as an important avenue of communication for Nebius to share project updates and information, and in return, receive feedback from its community partners and representatives.

Nebius is committed to community engagement, with a focus on education and overall well-being in Independence. We believe that investing in training is essential to preparing residents for emerging careers and fostering innovation. As a global leader in artificial intelligence, Nebius brings access to advanced computing infrastructure and industry thought leaders, helping Independence unlock new opportunities for growth.

We are dedicated to working closely with stakeholders throughout the planning, construction, and operation of our planned Independence facility. To ensure transparency and maintain open communication, we have planned multiple touchpoints, including public hearings, open houses, and briefings with key leaders, to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to partnership and responsible development.

We are working with a third-party vendor to conduct a noise study, which will provide specific decibel readings in both dBA and dBC. The report will compare predicted noise levels and assess their compliance with the noise ordinance limits. The study findings will inform our final technological and natural approach to noise mitigation to ensure full compliance with the city’s ordinance.

We have submitted Phase 1 lighting plans to the city for review and approval. Our lighting plans are specifically designed to keep light facing downward and we use shielding to keep light focused on our facility, parking lot, and equipment yards for safety and security.

We will make every attempt to minimize and control dust on the site. For areas where we are not currently working, ARCO will place topsoil, new grass, and mulch. In areas where we are working, dust control will occur with the use of onsite water trucks.

The purpose of the generators onsite is for emergencies only, such as a power outage, to support life safety function, safely monitor, and run the cooling equipment to enable a managed shut down. They will not be used to keep running and operating the facility in the event of an outage.

Our engineers design equipment to minimize vibration and it is not anticipated to be felt off site.