BUTTE - Nothing draws a crowd in Butte faster than a football game or a bar fight, or talk of energy rates and a proposed data center, and people gathered here at the Copper Lounge on the campus of Montana Tech have a lot of questions.
“There are a lot more questions than there are answers at this point in time, so we all have to keep our ears open, and our mouths shut a little bit and find out what’s what,” Butte Watchdog member Evan Barrett said.
The Governor’s Energy Task Force held an open house meeting in Butte recently featuring several energy-related agencies there to answer any of the public’s questions. Most wanted to learn more about a proposed data center that’s considering locating near Butte. Sabey Data Centers has up to six months to decide if it will build a data center on 600 acres of land at the Montana Connections Industrial Park south of Butte.
WATCH: Crowd questions Governor's Energy Task Force about data center and energy concerns
Butte Chief Executive J.P. Gallagher has voiced support for the project.
“Many people have said, ‘You know, J.P.’s bullish on this.’ I am, because I’m bullish about the economy of our community and what’s going to be the next generation of our community,” Gallagher said.
Representatives from Sabey spoke with many people during the forum. Some residents are concerned that a high-energy user like a data center would affect customers’ utility rates.
“They’re going to raise our utility rate to pay for these and, you know, the benefit to the community? Yeah, there will be jobs, but I think the pain will be felt by a lot of Buttians in utility rates,” Butte resident Nick Gevock said.
In an email to MTN News, Sabey Data Center said: Any potential facility would operate within Montana’s regulated utility framework and be subject to Public Service Commission review.
Even after the open house, at least one resident was still skeptical.
“Everything is wonderful, it won’t affect your power, it won’t affect the pit, we’ll be going to get our water from Silver Lake, everything is great,” Butte resident Cindy Cohan said with sarcasm.
And what do you think of that?
"I don’t believe it,” she said.
Other open houses are scheduled in Miles City on March 25 and Colstrip on April 15th.
