BONNER — City and county leaders on Monday expressed concerns over the potential impacts of data centers as new proposals proliferate across Montana, including one center eyeing operations in Bonner.
Missoula Mayor Andrea Davis said that as artificial intelligence advances, so too must city operations and ethics. And as new data centers launch to feed the power-hungry technology, their impacts on economics, water and energy must be taken into consideration.
“We're paying attention to energy consumption, water consumption and land consumption,” Davis told attendees at City Club Missoula. “There's a conflict here. Our technology, oversight and regulatory abilities in Montana are way behind, and that should be a concern for all of us.”
Earlier this year Krambu – an Idaho-based company – announced its intent to place a data center at the former Bonner mill site. The first phase of the project would likely need around 1 megawatt of power, the company's owner has said.
Krambu's proposal will go before the county's land use board for consideration. The board's recommendation will then advance to Missoula County commissioners for final consideration.
“It's a high bar. It's by no means a slam dunk,” said Commissioner Josh Slotnick. “They would need a special exemption from the zoning.”
The data center would operate from the former log yard and sit within 500 feet of a residential area – a fact that would require some form of variance from current county zoning.
Roughly five years ago, when a cryptocurrency operation also proposed a Bonner operation, the county adopted permanent zoning to regulate where such industries can operate.
But it also adopted a new policy stating that any crypto-mining operation within the county must purchase or develop enough new renewable energy to offset 100% of its electrical consumption. That policy would apply to Krambu's proposed AI data center as well.
“You need to create new renewable electricity, either on site or somewhere else. That doesn't mean carbon offsets or buying from hydro assets that already exist,” Slotnick said. “You have to buy new, green electrons. We chose to set pretty intense climate goals. Having one entity using this level of energy in our county would set us way back from our (climate) goal.”
The 1 megawatt of power sought by Krambu in Phase 1 is enough to power nearly 800 homes for a year in the Pacific Northwest, according to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council.
Given the power requirements, Northwestern Energy has already filed an application with the Montana Public Service Commission seeking approval of its terms to serve the boom of data centers proposed across state.
Northwestern Energy is also looking at an all-stock deal valued at $15.4 billion to merge with Black Hills to help meet the growing demand for energy. Where that new power would come from also remains a point of controversy, as no or little new green electricity is planned.
“Ultimately, we have to think about what's happening with this private utility (Northwestern), the Public Service Commission and the Legislature, and keep thinking about how we get out in front of this,” Davis said. “There are economic opportunities with data centers and AI. We can't put our head in the sand with this. It's happening. But at at the same time, we need eyes wide open.”
