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Data center campus · East of Interstate 29 between Harwood and Fargo, southeast of Harwood (west half of Section 3, annexed into Harwood), Cass County, North Dakota

Applied Digital Polaris Forge 2 campus, Harwood

Under construction as of Oct. 7, 2026

A $3 billion, 280 MW AI data center campus on more than 900 contracted acres between Harwood and Fargo, leased to an investment-grade hyperscaler and approved by Harwood in September 2025 over resident objections and a Fargo annexation attempt. Also known as: APLD FAR-01, APLD FAR-02.

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Power280MW reported · stated
Floor area900,000sq ft
Site900acres
IT load200MW

Who is behind it

ProjectApplied Digital Polaris Forge 2 campus, HarwoodAlso: APLD FAR-01, APLD FAR-02
Developer and teamApplied Digital
End userUnnamed U.S. investment-grade hyperscaler (not named in Applied Digital filings)

The record, newest first

  1. 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)

  2. 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)

  3. 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)

  4. 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)

  5. Applied Digital closed a $2.15 billion bond offering to fund construction of the campus. (Valley News Live (KVLY), March 10, 2026)

  6. 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)

  7. 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)

  8. 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)

  9. 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)

  10. 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)

  11. 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)

  12. 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)

Conflicts and open questions

  • Coordinates approximate, placed east of I-29 between Harwood and Fargo as reported; not a parcel address.
  • Acreage: the company contracted more than 900 acres; Harwood rezoned 320 acres; the Forum reported the buildings would occupy about 160 acres.
  • Tenant: Applied Digital's SEC filings do not name the hyperscaler. Valley News Live (March 2026, repeated in a July 2026 story carried by KFYR) said the campus is leased to Oracle; no primary record confirms this, so the tenant is left unnamed.
  • Harwood residents and others objected to the speed and transparency of the approval, the lack of public comment at the final vote, and possible effects on power and water prices, worker safety and the environment.
  • The Minnkota project cost rose from $75 million to $110 million; Minnkota says Applied Digital pays it up front.
  • Applied Digital's Feb. 2026 10-Q dates the lease Oct. 20, 2025; the FY2026 10-K gives Oct. 22, 2025, the date the lease was announced.

The full record

Status note
Two buildings under construction; Applied Digital expects initial service in the second half of 2026 and full capacity in early 2027.
Power note
280 MW is the announced campus size and the peak demand Minnkota cited for the Agassiz substation; 200 MW of critical IT load is leased. Applied Digital's Oct. 2026 10-Q describes the two buildings as an aggregate 300 MW of capacity, so reported figures range from 280 to 300 MW.
Evidence
Primary public records
Size class
50 MW or more (tracker scope)
Map position approximate, from the reported address or area. Updated Oct. 17, 2026.