Are Data Centers The New Way To Sell Out Montana?

TAC Data Centers Want The Missouri River In Great Falls

Montana is being heavily prospected by data centers due to our wide open spaces and access to water.

Back in June, I read an article on Montana Free Press about the data center that TAC Data Centers wants to put on the outskirts of Great Falls. Their initial proposal is for a 2 million square foot campus on 569 acres on the northeast boundary of Great Falls. They promise up to 200 permanent jobs at the center.

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The Truth About Data Centers And Resources

This all reminds me a little too much of the Madison Food Park situation that was only just resolved in SEPTEMBER 2025, literally last month. It took over 7 years to get that horrific-very-bad-idea out of Great Falls.

I did some research and this is what I found out about data centers.

The Pros Of A Data Center Outside Of Great Falls

• Permanent jobs with pay ranging from $35,000 a year to over $135,000 a year
• Tax income for the town, county and state (If we REALLY worried about that in Great Falls would we let Calumet negotiate a million dollars off of their tax bill? Just sayin')

The Cons Of A Data Center Outside Of Great Falls

• Water consumption is NUTS: "In 2021, just one of Google’s data centers in Oregon used up 355 million gallons of water. In 2023, all of Meta’s data centers worldwide guzzled around 1.4 billion gallons of water."--UAB. Keep in mind, it's local water they use and there's no getting it back
• Electricity usage is WILDLY HIGH: in 2016 they were using around 200 trillion watts an hour, projected to rise to 2967 trillion watts by 2030. Almost everywhere there is a data center utility prices skyrocket. That's what we need. MORE money for NWE and then they pass that cost to them on to us. No thanks
• Public health is affected because the data centers rely on fossil fuels to keep things running 24 hours a day 7 days a week. This can greatly increase air pollution in the area
• Almost NOONE is talking about the light and noise pollution. This is the power plant in Laurel, but find out what residents are saying about the light and noise 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Check out this story from Montana Free Press

The data center being proposed to Great Falls would be the biggest one in the state. Neat.

Read More: Is Dave's Hot Chicken Really Coming To Great Falls?

The PSC has asked North Western Energy for proof they won't raise rates AGAIN. (They can show us all they want, but does anyone in Montana trust them? I think that's the real question after what they've done and continue to do.) Northwestern Energy has nearly tapped out Montanans with rate hikes in the last year and a half.

TAC is only interested in places with wide open spaces and "free" water: Billings' Yellowstone River, Great Falls' Missouri River

TAC hopes to get power and permits done before 2027 and complete it by 2030.

So Where Will All The New Employees Live In Great Falls?

There's something NOBODY is talking about. There is already a housing shortage here. For the love of God.

FYI: Families don't dream of apartment living near industrial parks. I feel the one percenters doing these things need to be reminded of that.

Did We Learn Nothing From The Madison Food Park Nightmare?

For 8 years we had to fight to get those yahoos out of town. Why are we inviting the devil back in? It may not be slaughtering animals, no. But, it will slaughter the river and sell more of our unrecoverable resources out to the highest bidder.

We don't have to sell our Montana soul or resources for jobs. And do we REALLY want more people moving here?

Sources: Montana Free Press June 2025, University of Alabama Institute For Human Rights, Montana Public Radio, Montana Free Press September 2025, CAE, The Electric November 2023,The Electric August 2025,Upper Missouri Waterkeeper  

Keep scrolling to take a peek at a Facebook Data Center🔻🔻🔻