Why this score?
Four weighted factors drive the Washington County risk score. Methodology is fully documented — each input is public data or a reasoned proxy.
Served by Ameren Missouri. Above-average transmission capacity via Ameren Missouri grid.
Water source: Big River / Meramec River. Moderate water availability. Closed-loop or air-cooled systems likely required for hyperscale.
Moderate availability of large parcels.
Adjacent to Jefferson County, which has active projects. Cluster development is the strongest predictor of where developers look next.
Water infrastructure
Washington County's primary water source is Big River / Meramec River.
Any hyperscale data center in Washington County would need a Missouri DNR permit for water withdrawal and discharge. A single hyperscale data center using evaporative cooling can require 1–5 million gallons per day — a volume that would represent a significant fraction of the county's total water usage. Closed-loop and air-cooled designs reduce that draw at higher capital cost. Meta's Kansas City facility can use up to 9.5 million gallons daily — more than 95,000 average Missouri households.
Electric infrastructure
Washington County is served by Ameren Missouri, the state's largest electric utility, covering eastern and central Missouri with approximately 1.2 million customers.
The Missouri Public Service Commission approved a new large-load rate structure for Ameren Missouri in December 2025, specifically designed for data centers and other large industrial customers. The rate structure ensures these customers pay their full share of infrastructure and generation costs while protecting existing residential ratepayers. Ameren Missouri provides power for the Google and AWS data center campuses under development in Montgomery County.
Under Missouri's SB 4, data centers above 75 MW must pay premium utility rates. However, environmental groups including the Sierra Club have raised concerns that increased data center demand could pressure Ameren to extend the life of its Labadie coal-burning power plant — one of the dirtiest in the country — and build additional natural gas generation on top of the 6.1 gigawatts already in its future plans. Sulfur dioxide emissions at Labadie increased 17% last year.
State legislative context
Missouri's 2026 legislative session directly affects Washington County, regardless of whether a project is currently proposed here.
HJR 173 & 174 proposes eliminating Missouri's income tax and replacing it with expanded sales taxes on services — while data centers continue to receive a sales tax exemption on construction materials, equipment, and utilities for up to 15 years. According to the Missouri Budget Project, 80% of Missourians would face a net tax increase.
At the local level, developers negotiate Chapter 100 industrial revenue bonds that exempt them from real and personal property taxes. Under SB 4, data centers above 75 MW must pay premium utility rates. Many rural Missouri counties have no planning and zoning laws, meaning a data center can be proposed with no public hearing, no zoning review, and no county oversight.