Black Boxes Didn't Help: Google Data Center Figures Leak via Copy-Paste

Data centers in Nebraska must file an annual report with the state's Department of Water, Energy, and Environment (DWEE), but state statutes let them keep their actual water and electricity consumption from the public. Google took full advantage: all three of its data centers in the state — in Lincoln, Omaha, and Papillion — declared their usage figures a trade secret, citing Nebraska law.

The trouble is the redaction was sloppy. The black boxes in the report were only a visual cover: highlight the hidden text with a cursor, copy it into a separate document, and everything they tried to conceal is right there.

What the censorship hid

The Lincoln facility, filed as Agate LLC, draws 52.65 megawatts at peak demand and used 13.299 megagallons of water over the year for cooling towers, evaporative systems, and site operations — about 13 million gallons. For context, that would fill roughly 20 Olympic-size swimming pools, and it is less than half what the City of Lincoln reported using on a single day, Sept. 29.

Across the six reporting data centers, total water use came to 765 million gallons last year — nearly 1,160 Olympic pools. The thirstiest is Google's Papillion site (Fireball Group LLC) at 547.88 megagallons for 2025.

A few more secrets

The same carelessness exposed expected tax refunds. The reports say the centers have so far received no rebates or incentive payments, but they expect 2025 refunds: Agate LLC anticipates $55,822,472, Fireball LLC $39,171,573, and Omaha's Westwood Solutions LLC $22,558,881.

Agate LLC's filings also show a gross floor area of 288,530 square feet — about five football fields.

The reporting stems from a July executive order by Governor Jim Pillen requiring data centers to self-report their impact on the state's water, power grids, and infrastructure. Reports were due Sept. 30; that same day, broadcaster 10/11 filed a public records request to obtain, through proper channels, what it had already read via copy-paste.

Source: Hacker News