North Dakota’s entry into massive information center development is driven by a restraint– but not the one most markets are facing.
Associated Research
The state expects 3 to three-and-a-half billion cubic feet of excess gas within the next five to seven years as Bakken production continues to grow while export pipelines near capacity, according to Richard Garman of North Dakota Department of Commerce. Moving more gas out of state would require new interstate pipelines, a process that is slow, expensive, and politically filled. Restricting production would likewise limit oil output and tax income.
“So the question ends up being: what do you finish with that gas?” Garman states.
North Dakota’s response has actually been to treat surplus gas as an in-state economic advancement input– converting it into gigawatt-scale power generation rather than exporting the fuel itself. Couple of industries can absorb that sort of load, but AI and high-performance computing facilities can.
3.5 B
Cubic feet– That’s just how much surplus natural gas North Dakota could have readily available within the next five to 7 years as Bakken production continues to grow while pipeline capability tightens up.
At that scale, the strategy flips the usual site selection problem. Rather of asking whether power can be delivered to a task, designers begin by anchoring generation near to require.
That method is already noticeable on the ground. Applied Digital runs the state’s two largest information center schools. Its Ellendale center developed from crypto mining into a large-scale information center develop that began construction in late 2023 and reached industrial operations in late 2025, Garman states. A 2nd campus near the Fargo region is under construction now, with website work underway despite winter season conditions.
The tasks reflect a more comprehensive shift in how developers are examining markets. Loads that once determined 10 or fifty megawatts are now prepared in the hundreds, with long-lasting expansion targets approaching a gigawatt. In numerous traditional data center hubs, utilities are struggling to accommodate that development on existing grids.
So the question ends up being: what do you do with that gas?
Richard Garman, North Dakota Economic Advancement
North Dakota’s advantage is less about incentives than conversion speed– how quickly surplus fuel can become delivered power. Garman points to a regulative environment formed by years of large energy jobs, where air, water, and carbon allowing procedures are well understood and sequenced early.
Carbon management has likewise gone into some siting discussions. The state has ideal geology for CO2 storage, decades of handling experience, and the capability to allow injection wells in-state– offering operators another option when emissions strategies matter.
The bet is straightforward: as grid restrictions intensify in other places, markets that can turn stranded fuel into reputable megawatts– instead of guarantees– will catch the next wave of AI infrastructure.