Proposed AI data centers raise concerns from Montanans

The AI data center industry is making its way into Montana, raising a slew of concerns for many residents. 

Last Monday, the Montana Environmental Information Center (MEIC) held a panel discussion at the Gallatin Gateway Community Center to discuss environmental and ethical issues surrounding the presence of AI data centers in Montana, specifically in the Bozeman and Three Forks areas. 

As of February 2026, NorthWestern Energy has agreed to provide power to three proposed data centers near Billings, Great Falls and Butte, according to a Feb. 12 article from the Montana Free Press.

According to a March 25 Instagram post by the MEIC, community members who attended the panel expressed concerns about the state's growing AI industry, with topics ranging from data center energy consumption to the transparency of proposed projects.

Data centers — large warehouses hosting servers — can be used for a variety of purposes, according to Bozeman Democratic Socialists of America (BDSA) member Matt Kortan who attended the meeting.

BDSA is a chapter of the larger Democratic Socialists of America, and works toward a more democratic world free from exploitation, according to its website. Along with the MEIC, BDSA is currently working to educate Montanans about the potential dangers posed by data centers. 

“The ones we have [in Montana] right now are mainly focused for storing data for crypto,” Kortan said. “The issue that we’re seeing now is with the AI ones, and it’s an issue of scale.”

According to him, AI data centers can strain energy infrastructure.

“The three proposed projects that we know about in Montana right now that NorthWestern Energy has acknowledged would demand over double what the consumer energy usage is right now in the state,” Kortan said.

Data centers also require large amounts of water to manage heat, according to AIRSYS Cooling Technology. A typical data center consumes roughly 300,000 gallons of water a day, according to a 2025 article by the Brookings Institute. 

The water-sourcing needs of the proposed projects have not been disclosed, according to Kortan.

“It could be from places like Canyon Ferry, which is a reservoir for fresh drinking water,” he said. “That would not be good to be using that up for something that doesn’t really benefit people or wildlife.”

MEIC executive director Anne Hedges shared her concern about NorthWestern’s silence regarding water consumption. “The lack of transparency for how much water they’re going to use and where they’re going to get it is very concerning,” she said.

According to Hedges, it is also important that the water used to cool data centers is monitored after it is discarded. 

“I want to make sure that we’re not discharging harmful levels of hot water or chemically harmful waters into waters of Montana or water areas that other people use,” she said. “You don’t want to be injecting it underground when you have a bunch of farmers and ranchers who are reliant on those underground groundwater systems for their operations.”

Despite the risks associated with data center development, AI can still offer benefits, including medical applications, according to Hedges. 

“It can solve problems really quickly that otherwise take a long time,” she said. “I think, though, that we need to be really thoughtful about how we move forward with AI.”

Several MSU students voiced their opinions on the proposed data centers. “I feel like Montana is not the place to put huge data centers,” said kinesiology major Tate Hart. “For years like this one where our snowpack is so low, fire season is going to need all the water we can get.”

Industrial and management systems engineering student Aidan Mordin voiced similar concerns. 

“In Montana where we have dry summers, the water consumption would be alarming,” he said. “Montana is known for beautiful public lands, and data centers are a concrete monolith which decimates the landscape.”

According to Kortan, Organizations like BDSA have provided opportunities to spread awareness about the risks associated with data centers.

“We’ve been reaching out to all sorts of groups,” he said. “Environmental groups, farmers’ unions, different citizen watchdog groups that are concerned about the environmental impacts, impacts on their energy bills, impacts on the local economy and labor that we’ve seen data center developments have in other states.”

Kortan said Montanans take pride in the natural beauty of their state, which new data centers could jeopardize. 

“I think data centers would threaten a lot of those things about what makes Montana so great,” he said. “I think that’s the biggest threat [of data centers], just selling out our environmental integrity to big business interests that would ultimately benefit a few people and harm the majority of Montanans.”

To learn more about MEIC, visit meic.org. To learn more about BDSA, visit bozemandsa.org.