data centers

The pause, which will last up to a year, is the nation’s first statewide ban on data centers, which have drawn increasing concern from lawmakers and citizens based on their impact on electricity prices and the energy grid.

Across Montana, concerns about data centers are spurring questions about what kind of oversight citizens and local governments have over large-scale projects.

The property owner behind a proposed data center in Bonner has withdrawn his signature from a special exception application, though Missoula County will move forward with an interim ban on new facilities until it can develop a policy guiding future endeavors.

Saying it's policies regarding cryptocurrency mining and data centers are outdated, Missoula County on Monday stated its intent to enact interim zoning to pause any future projects until it can study their impacts and any potential regulations needed to mitigate them.

NorthWestern Energy filed a proposal with the Montana Public Service Commission to set a new tariff, or terms, for data centers, and this month, a host of different parties said they want to participate in the case.

Reno City Council voted to keep a temporary data center moratorium in place and vowed to adopt new regulations sometime next year.

NV Energy intends to spend slightly more than $3 billion on capital projects in Northern Nevada in the next three years, according to its resource plan.

Mounting evidence shows that a clean energy project along the Columbia River in Washington near a Yakama sacred site would in large part power a data center.

NorthWestern Energy officials have said data centers aren’t relevant to the utility’s proposed merger with Black Hills Corp — but data centers are part of their discussions with investors and a rationale for a merger.

Montana Health Professionals for a Healthy Climate write, "The internet may feel intangible, but its infrastructure is not. It runs on water, energy, and land, resources that Montanans depend on every day."