Cass County

Moratoriums and bans

1. Oct. 22, 2026 Harmony Township: Moratorium proposed; vote canceled. The township board discussed a temporary data center moratorium on Sept. 22, 2026, a week after Geronimo Power applied for a conditional use permit for a 540 MW data center on a 640-acre section of the township near Mapleton. Proposed 24-month moratoria covering data centers, solar, wind, battery storage, gas generation and transmission lines were set for a public hearing and vote on Oct. 22. That day the township canceled the hearings and votes on all six because the published notice had run 13 days ahead of the meeting, short of the 15 days state law requires for township zoning restrictions; no new date had been set. Geronimo offered to pause its application for six months instead. (North Dakota Monitor (via Valley News Live), Oct. 5, 2026; Geronimo Power, Oct. 22, 2026; Valley News Live, Oct. 13, 2026; Y94 (Fargo), Oct. 22, 2026; KVRR, Oct. 22, 2026)
2. May 19, 2026 City of Casselton: Moratorium (interim development control, one year). According to Barnes County's May 19, 2026 minutes, Casselton's city council president told commissioners the city had adopted interim development control on data centers, a one-year moratorium meant to wait for the next Legislature. The city's own adoption record and date were not found; the date shown is the meeting where it was reported. (Barnes County Board of Commissioners, May 19, 2026)

Updates, newest first

1. Oct. 26, 2026 Dakota Carrier Network Great Plains Data Center · DCN's services page markets the 23,180 sq ft Great Plains Data Center in Fargo for carrier-neutral colocation, alongside its Bismarck site. (Dakota Carrier Network, Oct. 26, 2026)
2. Oct. 26, 2026 Midco Fargo Data Center · Midco markets the Fargo site as a 16,000 sq ft Tier III facility with more than 7,500 sq ft of raised floor, generator and UPS backup, and SOC 2 compliance. (Midco Business, Oct. 26, 2026)
3. Oct. 22, 2026 Harmony Energy Park · Harmony Township canceled a scheduled hearing and vote on six proposed 24-month moratoria, which covered data centers, solar, wind, battery storage, gas generation and transmission. Opponents had challenged the published notice as short of the 15 days state law requires, and the township said future meetings would be properly noticed. Geronimo's CEO offered to pause the data center application for six months. (KFGO (The Mighty 790), Oct. 22, 2026; Valley News Live, Oct. 13, 2026)
4. Oct. 22, 2026 Harmony Township: Moratorium proposed; vote canceled · The township board discussed a temporary data center moratorium on Sept. 22, 2026, a week after Geronimo Power applied for a conditional use permit for a 540 MW data center on a 640-acre section of the township near Mapleton. Proposed 24-month moratoria covering data centers, solar, wind, battery storage, gas generation and transmission lines were set for a public hearing and vote on Oct. 22. That day the township canceled the hearings and votes on all six because the published notice had run 13 days ahead of the meeting, short of the 15 days state law requires for township zoning restrictions; no new date had been set. Geronimo offered to pause its application for six months instead. (North Dakota Monitor (via Valley News Live), Oct. 5, 2026; Geronimo Power, Oct. 22, 2026; Valley News Live, Oct. 13, 2026; Y94 (Fargo), Oct. 22, 2026; KVRR, Oct. 22, 2026)
5. Oct. 21, 2026 Harmony Energy Park · A complaint was filed with the North Dakota Attorney General's office. It alleged that the township broke open-meetings law at its Oct. 20 meeting, including in how public comment was limited and in hiring the law firms by unrecorded voice votes. It also said the notice for the moratorium hearing was published two days short of the 15 days state law requires. No response from the Attorney General's office had been reported. (KFGO (The Mighty 790), Oct. 21, 2026; KVRR, Oct. 21, 2026)
6. Oct. 20, 2026 Harmony Energy Park · Harmony Township supervisors voted to retain the Fargo firm O'Keeffe O'Brien Lyson as local counsel and the Minneapolis firm Eckland & Blando as special litigation counsel. (KFGO (The Mighty 790), Oct. 20, 2026; KFGO (The Mighty 790), Oct. 21, 2026)
7. Oct. 14, 2026 Harmony Energy Park · KFGO asked Geronimo Power CEO Blake Nixon whether the company would sue if the township adopted the moratorium or denied the permit. He did not rule out legal action. He said the project cannot be built without Harmony Township's permit, and that a 24-month data center moratorium would signal that the area is closed for business. (KFGO (The Mighty 790), Oct. 14, 2026)
8. Oct. 13, 2026 Harmony Energy Park · At a public meeting in Wheatland, Geronimo said the buildings would stand at least a mile from any home and about 80% of the site would remain green space. (Valley News Live, Oct. 13, 2026)
9. Oct. 7, 2026 Applied Digital Polaris Forge 2 campus, Harwood · Applied Digital reported both buildings still under construction, with initial service expected in the second half of 2026. (Applied Digital Corporation (SEC Form 10-Q), Oct. 7, 2026)
10. Sept. 15, 2026 Harmony Energy Park · Geronimo filed a conditional use permit application with Harmony Township for two main data center buildings with up to 540 MW of initial service. About 160 acres of the 640-acre section would be developed. (Geronimo Power, Oct. 22, 2026; KFGO (The Mighty 790), Oct. 14, 2026; North Dakota Monitor, Sept. 29, 2026)
11. Sept. 10, 2026 Harmony Energy Park · Geronimo said it was in the early stages of exploring a data center in Harmony Township, near communities around its Harmony Solar project. It had not yet filed a permit. The company also confirmed it holds a land purchase option in Durbin Township that is not tied to a specific project. (Valley News Live, Sept. 10, 2026)
12. July 29, 2026 Applied Digital Polaris Forge 2 campus, Harwood · Applied Digital's annual report listed the Polaris Forge 2 lease as about 15 years and about $5.0 billion of contracted revenue, with delivery expected from the second half of 2026 into the first half of 2027. (Applied Digital Corporation (SEC Form 10-K), July 29, 2026)
13. May 19, 2026 City of Casselton: Moratorium (interim development control, one year) · According to Barnes County's May 19, 2026 minutes, Casselton's city council president told commissioners the city had adopted interim development control on data centers, a one-year moratorium meant to wait for the next Legislature. The city's own adoption record and date were not found; the date shown is the meeting where it was reported. (Barnes County Board of Commissioners, May 19, 2026)
14. April 29, 2026 Applied Digital Polaris Forge 2 campus, Harwood · The ND Public Service Commission approved Minnkota's $110 million Agassiz 345-kV substation and 1.74-mile line near Harwood (Case PU-26-22), which will serve the data center; it had allowed early site work April 15. (North Dakota Public Service Commission, April 29, 2026; KFYR-TV (North Dakota Monitor), April 30, 2026; North Dakota Monitor, April 15, 2026)
15. April 2, 2026 Applied Digital Polaris Forge 2 campus, Harwood · Minnkota said the cost of the substation and line serving the data center had risen from $75 million to $110 million and that Applied Digital would pay it up front. (North Dakota Monitor (via News From The States), April 2, 2026)
16. March 10, 2026 Applied Digital Polaris Forge 2 campus, Harwood · Applied Digital closed a $2.15 billion bond offering to fund construction of the campus. (Valley News Live (KVLY), March 10, 2026)
17. Jan. 20, 2026 Applied Digital Polaris Forge 2 campus, Harwood · Fargo staff reported that the west half of Section 3 had been annexed into Harwood and the east half was in mediation; the commission also closed and restarted a separate annexation of land in Section 35. (City of Fargo, City Commission, Jan. 20, 2026)
18. Dec. 8, 2025 Applied Digital Polaris Forge 2 campus, Harwood · The Fargo City Commission voted unanimously to drop its annexation of the data center land and send the dispute over the east half of the section to mediation. (The Forum (InForum), Dec. 8, 2025; Valley News Live (KVLY), Dec. 8, 2025)
19. Oct. 20, 2025 Applied Digital Polaris Forge 2 campus, Harwood · Applied Digital subsidiaries signed a roughly 15-year lease with a U.S. investment-grade hyperscaler for 200 MW of critical IT load at the campus. (Applied Digital Corporation (SEC Form 10-Q), April 8, 2026)
20. Sept. 10, 2025 Applied Digital Polaris Forge 2 campus, Harwood · At a special meeting without public comment, the Harwood council gave final approval to rezoning 320 acres to light industrial. (North Dakota Monitor, Sept. 10, 2025; Valley News Live (KVLY), Sept. 10, 2025)
21. Sept. 2, 2025 Applied Digital Polaris Forge 2 campus, Harwood · After a contentious hearing, the Harwood City Council unanimously passed first reading of a rezoning from agricultural to light industrial, approved a building permit and voted to oppose Fargo's annexation. (The Forum (InForum), Sept. 2, 2025)
22. Aug. 18, 2025 Applied Digital Polaris Forge 2 campus, Harwood · Applied Digital announced Polaris Forge 2, a $3 billion, 280 MW campus on more than 900 contracted acres near Harwood, with power through Cass County Electric Cooperative. (Applied Digital Corporation (GlobeNewswire), Aug. 18, 2025; North Dakota Monitor, Aug. 18, 2025)
23. Aug. 4, 2025 Applied Digital Polaris Forge 2 campus, Harwood · The Fargo City Commission voted unanimously to begin annexing nearly 800 acres north of the city, including the planned data center site. (The Forum (InForum), Sept. 2, 2025; The Forum (InForum), Sept. 27, 2025)
24. Aug. 23, 2017 Dakota Carrier Network Great Plains Data Center · Telecompetitor reported the addition connects to DCN's existing Fargo facility built in 2006 and that DCN customers included about 160 banks. (Telecompetitor, Aug. 23, 2017)
25. Aug. 16, 2017 Dakota Carrier Network Great Plains Data Center · DCN announced a $5 million, 14,000 sq ft Tier III addition at 3901 Great Plains Drive, built to withstand 200 mph winds, with Border States Electric as anchor tenant and completion by the end of 2018. (InForum (Fargo Forum), Aug. 16, 2017)
26. Aug. 16, 2017 Midco Fargo Data Center · InForum reported Midco had broken ground that week on a 16,000 sq ft Tier III data center at 4624 28th Ave. S., expected to open early the following year. (InForum (Fargo Forum), Aug. 16, 2017)

Statewide

North Dakota exempts enterprise IT equipment and software bought for a Tax Commissioner-certified qualified data center from sales and use tax: servers, cooling, power infrastructure, business-owned substations, backup generation and batteries, racking and cabling all count. The center must be built or substantially refurbished after Dec. 31, 2020, have at least 15,000 square feet with half or more used for data processing, sit on one parcel or contiguous parcels, and have fire suppression and enhanced security. Owners report each year the exemption claimed, jobs and local incentives (N.D.C.C. 57-39.2-04.17, from SB 2137 of 2021). It replaced a 2015 exemption (HB 1089) that was limited to the first four certified centers and expired at the end of 2020. The North Dakota Monitor reported claims of $15.3 million in 2024 and more than $65 million in 2025, and the Legislature's interim Tax Reform and Relief Advisory Committee is reviewing the incentive in 2025-26. No data-center-specific property tax break or PILOT statute was found. (North Dakota Legislative Assembly, 2021; North Dakota Legislative Assembly, 2015; North Dakota Legislative Council, Sept. 2025; North Dakota Monitor, Aug. 26, 2026) Montana-Dakota Utilities serves data centers under Rate 45, a high-density contracted demand-response rate for new data center loads of at least 10 MW and an 85% load factor. Each customer signs an electric service agreement that the PSC must approve, covering term, pricing, deposits, interruption and demand response, and line extensions are paid by the customer through contributions in aid of construction. Applied Digital's Ellendale agreements were reviewed in PSC Cases PU-22-371 and PU-23-320, -321 and -322. Basin Electric told lawmakers in 2025 that its Large Load Program makes developers prepay for new infrastructure, though no project had yet been completed under it. (Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. (filed with N.D. Public Service Commission), Feb. 21, 2024; Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. (filed with N.D. Public Service Commission), Nov. 9, 2023; Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. (presentation to N.D. Energy Development and Transmission Committee), Aug. 27, 2025; North Dakota Legislative Council, Aug. 27, 2025) Otter Tail Power asked the PSC on June 18, 2026 to create a High Power Compute rate for data centers with at least 75 MW of firm load (Case PU-26-215). Each such customer would need a dedicated plan for new generation to cover its energy and capacity, a contract of at least 15 years with collateral, and exit fees and liquidated damages; part of the data center margins would be shared with other customers through a system benefit credit. Otter Tail asked for a Jan. 1, 2027 effective date and filed a similar plan in Minnesota in May 2026. (Otter Tail Power Company (filed with N.D. Public Service Commission), June 18, 2026) HB 1539 (2025), signed by Gov. Kelly Armstrong on March 19, 2025, removes on-site backup generation over 50 MW that is not connected to the grid from the PSC's siting process under the Energy Conversion and Transmission Facility Siting Act (N.D.C.C. 49-22-03). Before, such a backup plant could need a state siting permit. These generators are now sited locally and must still meet any applicable state air permit rules. Applied Digital backed the bill. (Office of the Governor of North Dakota, March 19, 2025; North Dakota Legislative Assembly, 2025) North Dakota has no state siting law for data centers, and a PSC commissioner wrote in 2026 that the agency has no direct authority over them. HB 1579 (2025) began as a bill to put large power users, including data centers over 50 MW, through a PSC siting process. Utilities and Applied Digital opposed it, and it was changed into a Legislative Management study of large energy consumers' effects on the grid, regulation and economic development, signed in April 2025; the interim Energy Development and Transmission Committee is carrying out that study. A separate 2025 bill, HB 1239, would have limited local governments' power to restrict digital-asset mining through zoning; the House Industry, Business and Labor Committee recommended it not pass. (InForum (Bismarck Tribune reporting), Jan. 2025; Plural Policy (Open States), April 30, 2025; North Dakota Legislative Council, Aug. 2025; Minot Daily News, May 7, 2026; North Dakota Legislative Assembly, Feb. 12, 2025) 2026: lawmakers turned down a statewide pause on local data center permits through June 30, 2027 (bill draft 25.1452.01000). Legislative Management did not advance it on Aug. 17, and the House refused to introduce it 68-25 on Sept. 2. In the same special session, the Senate rejected SB 2406, which would have banned nondisclosure agreements between government agencies and data center or industrial developers, 32-15 on Sept. 3. Legislative leaders set up a new interim Artificial Intelligence and Data Center Committee in June 2026. (North Dakota Legislative Council, 2026; North Dakota Monitor, Aug. 17, 2026; North Dakota Monitor, Sept. 2, 2026; North Dakota Legislative Assembly, Sept. 2, 2026; North Dakota Monitor, Sept. 3, 2026; Valley News Live (KVLY), June 25, 2026) North Dakota data centers →