Nebraska data centers file annual reports with the state, and some of those reports contain a peculiar kind of secrecy: whole passages marked as trade secrets, even when the text underneath is perfectly readable. A local TV station found that by simply highlighting a redacted box, copying it, and pasting it elsewhere, the supposedly secret information became plain. The Google Data Center in Lincoln, known as Agate LLC, claimed its electricity and water usage were trade secrets protected by state law. But the law did not stop anyone from reading them anyway.
The result is a public record that shows Google’s Lincoln data center used 52.65 megawatts of electricity during peak demand and 13.299 megagallons of water between cooling towers, evaporative systems, and site operations last year. That water total works out to 13 million gallons.
How the Redaction Failed
The technique is almost absurdly simple. You take a document, highlight the redacted text with a computer cursor, copy it, and paste it into a new file. What was hidden behind black bars becomes plain text. The source describes this as “improper redaction,” and the phrase captures the whole situation: the law requires secrecy, but the technology makes it trivial to break.
Google did this for all three of its Nebraska data centers. Agate LLC is the Lincoln site; Fireball LLC is in Papillion; and Westwood Solutions LLC is in Omaha. The reports’ redaction failure followed the same process at each location. Each report cited the same state statutes — Neb. Rev. State §§ 81-1527; 84-712.05 and NAC TITLE 115, CH. 2 — to claim that electricity and water data fell under trade secret protections. None of that stopped anyone from seeing the numbers.
The Lincoln center’s electricity figure is measured in megawatts during peak demand, meaning it reflects the highest moment of consumption rather than an average. The water figure combines cooling towers, evaporative systems, and site operations, which suggests it covers everything from server cooling to facility maintenance.
What the Numbers Mean
For context, 13 million gallons is a large amount of water. The report also notes that 13 million gallons is less than half of what the City of Lincoln reports using on Sept. 29. That framing matters because it sets the scale: a major data center is a significant consumer of resources, but it is not the biggest user in the city.
The Tax Refund Figures
The report goes further than just water and electricity. It also includes expected tax refunds from 2025, and again, the redactions failed. Google’s reports state that data centers only “utilize or expect to utilize” sales and use tax exemptions under the Nebraska Advantage Act. No rebates have been received for that program to date, nor have any incentive payments been received or are expected under the ImagiNE Nebraska Act.
Agate LLC expects a refund of $55,822,472 from 2025 taxes. Fireball LLC is expecting a refund of $39,171,573.39. Westwood Solutions LLC, the Omaha site, is expecting a refund of $22,558,881.
Documents submitted by Agate LLC show that the gross floor area is 288,530 square feet, about five football fields.
The Oversight Mechanism
The oversight comes from the Department of Water, Energy, and Environment Data Center Task Force, which is handling Governor Jim Pillen’s July 20th Executive Order. The order requires data centers in the state to self-report their impact on Nebraska’s resources, primarily water, power grids, and local infrastructure. Usage reports are due by Sept. 30.
Submitted reports can be read by entering “DCR” into the “DEQ Program” field. Anyone who wants to check the filings can do so directly, though the process involves navigating through a state portal rather than a simple web search.
Why the Redactions Worked Anyway
The irony is that the redactions worked exactly as intended — they hid nothing from anyone who wanted to look closely. The problem was not a technical failure of confidentiality but a legal claim that did not hold up against a basic office trick. Anyone with a computer and a document reader could have done the same thing.
The situation raises questions about how companies are allowed to treat public information. Trade secrets exist for a reason, but they are generally meant to protect proprietary formulas, processes, or customer data — not routine resource consumption. A megawatt figure and a megagalloon figure are not trade secrets in any meaningful sense.
The Larger Picture
The six data centers that filed as of Sept. 30 showed a combined total of 765 million gallons of water last year. That number is striking, but it is also a snapshot of current usage.
The tax refund figures add another layer. A combined total refund expectation across the three centers is a significant amount of money, and it raises questions about whether the state is getting a fair return on its infrastructure investments. A data center that consumes 765 million gallons of water and pays reduced taxes is a complex economic picture.
What Happens Next
The reports are now public, and the redactions have been exposed. The question is whether anyone will do anything about it. The state task force is overseeing the reporting process, but it is not clear what remedies are available when a company marks information as a trade secret and then fails to protect it.
The answer will determine whether Nebraska’s data center reporting regime remains a curiosity.
- The Lincoln center used 52.65 megawatts of electricity during peak demand.
- The Lincoln center used 13.299 megagallons of water between cooling towers, evaporative systems, and site operations.
- Agate LLC expects a refund of $55,822,472 from 2025 taxes.
- Fireball LLC is expecting a refund of $39,171,573.39.
- Westwood Solutions LLC, the Omaha site, is expecting a refund of $22,558,881.
Source material: “Improper redaction reveals Google Data Center water and electricity usage,” 1011now.com.
Get the Notebook.
The day's best stories and every fresh verdict, in plain English, in your inbox by seven. One email a day, no more.