NORTH DAKOTA – The founder of an artificial intelligence data center manufacturer is trying to reassure the public that creation of more ‘AI factories’ in North Dakota is a great benefit.
“Our mantra is doing this the right way,” said Wes Cummins, founder of Applied Digital on The Flag on Thursday.
Applied Digital just announced a project to construct a third data center in the state that will operate just north of Fargo.
The corporation already has a data center up and running in Jamestown, and a second under construction in Ellendale.
But the newer project has drawn a strong negative reaction from locals in Harwood.
A number of residents attended a town hall meeting on Tuesday to voice their concerns about the potential impact on electricity, and worries that the small town will not be able to adjust to the change.
Cummins says the goal is “to create benefit” for the entire area where a data center, or what some would simply characterize as an ‘intelligence factory’, is constructed.
“We’re focused on land that has access to grid that can support this without being disruptive and that’s what we’ve found in Harwood,” said Cummins.
Cummins says there’s evidence that utility costs have gone down over the past two years in Ellendale.
Cummins says North Dakota produces around six times the amount of energy that it actually consumes.
It’s also one of the largest wind power producers, and specifically, Cummins says the state generates more than two times the electricity that the state consumes and usually exports the rest to other states.
Governor Kelly Armstrong and former governor Doug Burgum have both encouraged the use of more of the state’s own natural resources and energy for industry within the state itself.
Cummins says the company concentrates on “keeping power costs low” by finding the right locations.
“What we do is we locate on land that has access to grid where it can support these kind of electricity loads without impacting local residents,” said Cummins.
As far as when the new data center will be up and running, the Harwood location is expected reach partial capacity some time in 2026.
