Cass County, North Dakota
DataCentersExposed tracks 3 AI data centers in Cass County, North Dakota — 1 operating and 1 in the pipeline, drawing 280 MW of reported power demand. Its transparent data-center risk score is 0/100.
Sources: Methodology, Coverage scorecard
Reporting by Eric Keller · Updated May 29, 2026
- Project exposure · 10
- Power demand · 0
- Water draw · n/a
- Land footprint · n/a
What's happening in Cass County
Facilities here with disclosed capacity draw 280 MW from the local grid. Data-center load on this scale is the single biggest driver of recent capacity-market price increases — costs that flow through to every ratepayer in the service territory, not just the operators.
Below: every tracked facility in the county, the active state legislation that names it or its county, and local news. Commissioner vote records arrive in a later release; the placeholders show where that accountability data will land.
2035 Buildout Outlook
Under the model's moderate-growth scenario (5%/yr annual load growth), PNNL's IM3 model sites about 8 standardized 36 MW campuses in Cass County by 2035 — roughly 288 MW of new electricity demand and ~279 M gal/yr of cooling water. Under the higher-growth scenario (15%/yr) that climbs to 48 campuses (1.7 GW). For scale, we currently track 3 real data centers in Cass County (280 MW of reported power).
- Low growth6216 MW · ~209 M gal/yr cooling water
- Moderate growth8288 MW · ~279 M gal/yr cooling water
- High growth23828 MW · ~801 M gal/yr cooling water
- Higher growth481.7 GW · ~1.7 billion gal/yr cooling water
The model assigns ~100% of these campuses' cooling to evaporative water cooling in Cass County (the rest to mechanical/air cooling), a split it derives from local water stress and wet-bulb temperature.
These are modeled candidate sites, not announced or permitted facilities. PNNL's IM3 model places identical 36 MW unit-campuses at feasible locations under each scenario — it shows where demand could concentrate, never a specific parcel. Figures use a market-gravity weight of 50. How the model works.
Every tracked facility
| Facility | Operator | Status | MW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Applied Digital: Polaris Forge 2 Harwood | — | Under construction | 280 |
| Applied Digital Harwood | — | Mapped (unverified) | — |
| Dakota Carrier Network | — | — |
County commissioners
How the Cass County board votes on each data-center matter — the rezonings, the abatements, the water permits — is built from public-meeting minutes and roll-call records. Know of a vote we should be tracking? Tell us.