(C) Daily Montanan
This story was originally published by Daily Montanan and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
Montana PSC to take up data centers, AI • Daily Montanan [1]
['Keila Szpaller', 'Jordan Hansen', 'Peter Hall', 'John Cole', 'More From Author', '- August', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline']
Date: 2025-08-11
The Montana Public Service Commission will be scheduling a meeting soon to gather information on data centers following a series of recent announcements about new operations in the Treasure State.
PSC President Brad Molnar said Monday the commission will call on NorthWestern Energy to participate in the public meeting — expected to be scheduled in the coming weeks and also address AI — and outline its current and potential plans to support data centers.
NorthWestern Energy announced last month it had signed a letter of intent to “provide energy services” for Quantica Infrastructure’s proposed data center development in Montana.
NorthWestern said the energy load for Quantica’s first phase of development would be 500 megawatts. Quantica announced construction of the Big Sky Digital Infrastructure campus outside Billings would begin in 2026.
The announcement about the development in Billings comes on the heels of news other data centers are looking to open up shop in Montana — and the potential opportunities and problems those operators would bring.
NorthWestern Energy provides roughly 750 megawatts of power on average to existing Montana customers, and the new proposals would total at least 2,100 megawatts, according to the Montana Environmental Information Center.
Quantica Infrastructure, based in Texas, did not respond Monday to an email with questions about its plans including a specific location for its campus and number of people it plans to employ.
However, an economic researcher in Montana said data centers can create jobs with higher-than-average wages, albeit more so during construction phases, and they can make notable property tax contributions to government coffers.
But environmental advocates said the facilities will require significant energy and water for cooling, and existing customers should not have to foot the bill for the new data centers.
“If new generation and transmission infrastructure are being built to serve these data centers, Montana ratepayers should not be subsidizing those costs,” said Ben Catton, with the MEIC.
In an email, NorthWestern Energy spokesperson Jo Dee Black said the utility will work toward ensuring new large customers pay their fair share.
“NorthWestern Energy is planning to pursue proactive steps to ensure new commercial large energy customers pay the cost of their integration and the services they require,” Black said. “We will work with the Montana Public Service Commission to ensure these new customers contribute equitably to the infrastructure and operational costs tied to their service.”
Energy use isn’t the only concern, though. Rep. Jane Gillette, R-Three Forks, said she’s not an expert on data centers, but she pays attention to water because of the agriculture needs in her area, and data centers are heavy water users.
At a recent meeting of the Water Policy Interim Committee, Gillette, who is not on the committee, suggested the group study how data centers will affect water supplies.
Gillette said Monday she hopes related legislative studies on water and energy can guide lawmakers in the future when it comes to data centers.
“I want to believe there’s a pathway for moving forward because the data centers aren’t going away,” Gillette said to the Daily Montanan. “That’s a fact.”
***
On July 30, NorthWestern Energy announced it had signed a letter of intent — as NorthWestern Energy Group — to support Quantica Infrastructure, including an initial load of 500 megawatts and potential growth of up to 1 gigawatt.
The news release said NorthWestern was conducting a transmission study to assess how best to meet the company’s needs. It also said Quantica “has several generation projects in development” along with infrastructure that would integrate with the existing grid.
In its own news release, Quantica said its capacity would be 500 megawatts of renewable power and battery storage initially for its “5,000-acre energy, real estate and telecommunications campus.”
NBC Montana reported Quantica plans to build up to 1 gigawatt of on-site renewable generation.
In a statement, NorthWestern President and CEO Brian Bird said the “collaboration” reflects the utility’s commitment to “innovation,” economic development and delivering high-quality energy services.
“We’re actively working with Quantica to optimize the transmission infrastructure and generation resources needed to support this project,” Bird said in a statement. “Montana’s clean energy portfolio, reliable grid, and competitive rates make it an attractive location for new industries.”
In a statement provided by NorthWestern, Quantica CEO John Chesser said the project would create “meaningful employment opportunities along with improvements in telecommunications and power infrastructure for Montanans.”
Chesser also said the development would use “resilient power backed by dedicated renewable energy.”
NorthWestern Energy said it anticipates it could provide service to Quantica “through its regulated business,” pending regulatory considerations. It said the approach “could improve cost efficiency” by spreading infrastructure expenses across “a broader customer base.”
***
MEIC, however, said ratepayers should not be subsidizing the costs of new generation and transmission infrastructure, and NorthWestern’s statement about spreading costs across more customers is “concerning.”
“We’re also alarmed by the avalanche of announcements of data centers coming to Montana,” said the MEIC’s Ben Catton in an email also citing environmental and health costs as a concern.
Catton outlined those announcements for an upcoming MEIC newsletter for the nonprofit, which advocates for clean and affordable energy.
Those include an announcement in December by NorthWestern to supply two data centers with a combined 400 MWs, including one the utility confirmed is a Sabey Data Center subsidiary in Butte; an announcement in June by TAC Data Center to build a data center in Great Falls that will require up to 600 MWs; and announcements last month by two more companies, Krambu with plans for a 100 MW facility, and Quantica, according to MEIC.
In an email, the MEIC’s Nick Fitzmaurice said the total generation needed for those projects would be roughly three times NorthWestern Energy’s current average output and require “massive capital investments into generation and grid infrastructure.”
“There is a theoretical scenario where costs are shared across these new customers in a way that puts downward pressure on other customers’ rates, but that seems to be an extremely unlikely outcome,” Fitzmaurice said in an email. “These data centers are shopping around to utilities across the country, looking for the best deal they can get on electricity.
“It is likely that many of these projected loads will never be built if these companies jump from Montana to wherever else they can get a better deal. If NWE does entice them to build here, it would likely be through preferential electricity contracts that would subsidize data center energy on the backs of other customers, not the other way around.”
***
PSC President Molnar said the PSC’s job at the upcoming meeting will be to investigate the information NorthWestern provides so it can make decisions on any related rules that are needed based on the facts.
“It’s our job to be prepared and to drill down on what they say,” Molnar said.
He also said it will be important to hear directly from NorthWestern Energy’s top leader about the utility’s plans, not just from its lobbyists.
“I don’t care what they say. I want to know what he says,” Molnar said.
He said a special rate classification might be in order for data centers to ensure they pay their fair share. Molnar also said it’s important that wholly owned subsidiaries of private companies don’t end up putting other ratepayers at risk, or “bleed back on customers.”
Even though Quantica plans to build renewable energy to service AI and its data center, he said, it needs instantaneous backup with natural gas in order to not lose data in an emergency.
***
Although the data centers come with risks and high energy demands, Jeff Michael, with the Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of Montana, said they also represent economic development.
Michael said the construction phase can bring significant employment, and the data centers themselves bring permanent jobs, and they pay well.
“Especially in Montana, a couple hundred ongoing jobs that pay above average is certainly a benefit that can’t be ignored,” said Michael, who also noted he is not an expert in data centers.
Additionally, he said, the facilities pay high property taxes as “giant structures full of electronics” with a lot of value inside, he said. He said they can generate revenue for a local community “without generally putting huge demands on community infrastructure.”
As they evaluate locations, he said, those companies are looking at energy costs, the costs of development, and the operating and regulatory environment.
The industry is expanding nationwide and beyond, and the business climate might be in their favor in Montana, although it isn’t the first place they’re looking, he said.
“They’re looking for a lot of opportunities,” he said. “It’s probably a little less costly to operate here, and maybe somewhat less resistant than they might be getting in some other areas.”
At the Water Policy Interim Committee, at least a couple of legislators, including Reps. Jill Cohenour, D-Helena, and Terry Sharp, R-Lake County, agreed data centers should be part of the group’s upcoming work.
“How are we going to address these new commercial uses that are going to come online?” Cohenour said.
She said Gov. Greg Gianforte wants to provide incentives for such companies, and the committee should be prepared to talk about the implications.
Rep. Gillette, who wants to learn more about impacts on water, said the economic development potential reminds her of the tourism industry and questions it raises, such as whether Montana is being “loved to death.”
She said data centers come with a similar tension — and question.
“What kind of things do we need to put into place to make sure we still have the Montana that we cherish at the end of the day?”
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://dailymontanan.com/2025/08/11/montana-psc-to-take-up-data-centers-ai/
Published and (C) by Daily Montanan
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/montanan/
