If approved, the moratorium is the second the county would pass on new energy-related development projects. "Data center" is a catch-all term for physical infrastructure that houses machines used for cloud-computing, artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies.
Commissioners in July approved a moratorium on direct air carbon capture facilities. The moratoriums come in response to a proposed direct air capture project slated for a rural part of the county near Danzig Dam from Colorado-based company Retract LLC, which led to a local controversy this year. There is not a proposed data center for Morton County, but officials want to put their own set of rules in place as the state looks to attract the industry.
Retract's project involves a large system of fans, powered by a natural gas generator to pull carbon dioxide from the air for underground storage. It is more energy-intensive and expensive than carbon capture from the flue gas produced at power plants or factories, but supporters say the technology's development is needed to address climate change, which most environmental scientists say is due to an overabundance of CO2 in the atmosphere.
Retract has said it chose the location partially because of its remoteness. The company has signed leases for a 2,473-acre plot of land, and the project would be about 86 acres. Landowners of the property it would go on voiced support for the development at a recent public hearing.
But the proposal was met with a vocal backlash. Some living within a few miles of it are strongly opposed and argue that support is largely made up of absentee landowners, a claim backed up by testimony and letters from supporters at public hearings. A letter with the signature of over 100 county residents this spring also expressed opposition to Retract's project. Concerns mostly related to potential safety issues, noise disruption and land disturbance from a relatively nascent technology.
Morton County Planning and Zoning first recommended that the County Commission deny the project in February, then Retract pulled the project to update its application in response to concerns. Retract submitted a new application before the moratorium was set in place, meaning the project would not be directly impacted by it.
Planning and Zoning still recommended a denial, due in part to the project's water demands and the inability to pipe it in, requiring around nine trucks a day from Beulah. The County Commission will make the ultimate decision.
REASON FOR DATA CENTER MORATORIUM
County officials decided to consider a data center moratorium, too, given the similar concerns around potential noise, land and natural resource impacts. In Williams County, the noise from a local data center has prompted a lawsuit. Similar issues are popping up around the country as the industry grows, though the facilities do not always cause problems.
The state government has sought to expand both data centers and carbon capture infrastructure in recent years. Officials believe carbon capture will be needed to keep many of the state's high-polluting industries alive as the world seeks to address climate change, while data centers could put more of the state's coal, natural gas and wind power to use.
Coal plants are losing money on electricity markets to the latter two resources, but can provide large, steady streams of power that many data centers require. Meanwhile, natural gas is increasingly abundant in the state's oilfields, but lacks the needed infrastructure for it to go to use, potentially threatening oil development as the federal government cracks down on gas pollution. Officials have voiced the possibility of a 5,000 to 10,000 megawatt gas-fired power plant to power a data center. The state's largest power plant produces around 1,100 megawatts.
Wind farms often do not have enough local transmission to bring that power to market, creating costs for utility ratepayers. But when data centers are sited near wind farms, it can create a local use for the electricity and offset some of those costs, which is happening with a facility in southeastern North Dakota.
Companies are actively eyeing the state for numerous carbon capture projects, and there are at least six new data centers under development in North Dakota too.
The goal of the moratoriums, Morton County officials say, is to come up with local zoning laws that protect residents, not block development. The county took similar actions with wind farms years ago. The direct air carbon capture moratorium sunsets in a year, and last week, commissioners began putting together a committee that will develop local rules. It was not finalized, but will likely consist of two members of the county Planning and Zoning Board, one member of the County Commission, one direct air capture project opponent and one project supporter — likely someone from Retract.
Both the data center moratorium and Retract's application will be heard by the commission on Sep. 12 at the Morton County District Court in downtown Mandan.
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