Data Center and Colocation In North Dakota

North Dakota offers one of the most power-competitive data center markets in the United States, with low commercial electricity rates, cold-climate operating advantages, available land, and rising AI infrastructure investment. Fargo, Grand Forks, and Bismarck carry the state’s retail colocation supply, while Ellendale, Harwood, Center, Williston, Jamestown, Tioga, and Nekoma show its growing role in high-density compute, AI, HPC, and energy-adjacent development.

The state’s average commercial electricity rate was 7.46¢/kWh in March 2026, which is well below the U.S. average of 13.92¢/kWh. That power profile is one of the strongest reasons to consider North Dakota for colocation, high-density compute, disaster recovery, and cost-sensitive infrastructure.

North Dakota has a smaller enterprise colocation market than major U.S. data center hubs such as Northern Virginia, Dallas, Phoenix, Atlanta, Chicago, and Hillsboro. Its growth story is different. The state is attracting AI campuses, high-density compute facilities, and energy-linked infrastructure because it offers abundant power, cool weather, lower land costs, and a tax policy built to attract qualified data centers.

North Dakota Data Center Tracker

Why Colocate In North Dakota?

Colocating in North Dakota can reduce long-term power cost, support high-density compute, and place infrastructure in a cool-climate central U.S. market. The following factors explain where the state fits best and what buyers should evaluate before choosing a facility.

1. Market Access And Latency

North Dakota gives organizations a central northern U.S. location with practical reach into the Upper Midwest, Northern Plains, and Canadian border region. Fargo connects naturally into Minneapolis, Chicago, Omaha, Denver, and Winnipeg through regional and long-haul routes.

Fargo is the best traditional colocation market in the state because it has enterprise demand, fiber diversity, university talent, healthcare systems, financial services firms, and business access across the Red River Valley. Grand Forks and Bismarck support regional continuity, public sector workloads, and telecom aggregation.

Ellendale, Harwood, Center, Jamestown, Tioga, Nekoma, and Williston serve a different market profile. These locations tie more closely to high-density compute, AI infrastructure, energy access, and large land positions than to conventional enterprise colocation. That makes North Dakota useful for workloads where power cost, power availability, and site scale matter more than dense peering.

North Dakota is not a major cloud region. Compare Minneapolis data centers and Iowa data centers for regional alternatives with different carrier networks, retail capacity, and operating costs. Most hybrid deployments still require transport into larger cloud and peering hubs. The common architecture pairs North Dakota colocation or AI capacity with private network links into Minneapolis, Chicago, Denver, Seattle, or other regional internet exchange and cloud access markets.

2. Network Connectivity And Peering

North Dakota’s network base has improved because data center growth requires high-capacity fiber. Fargo is the state’s primary network hub, with Midco, Dakota Carrier Network, Fidium, 702 Communications, and carrier infrastructure serving enterprise and colocation users.

Midco has become more visible in AI infrastructure connectivity. The company announced a five-year, multistate 400G connectivity agreement in May 2026 to support critical AI infrastructure in Ellendale. That agreement is important because it shows how large data center projects are pulling higher-capacity transport into the state.

Dakota Carrier Network supports statewide connectivity through its cooperative fiber footprint and data center assets in Fargo and Bismarck. DCN’s network serves businesses, government, healthcare, public safety, and communications providers across North Dakota.

North Dakota does not have the same interconnection density as Chicago, Minneapolis, Dallas, or Ashburn. Organizations that need dense peering, many direct cloud on-ramps, or large content exchange ecosystems should plan transport into larger markets. Organizations that need regional connectivity, private circuits, disaster recovery, managed infrastructure, and cost-effective high-density capacity can find stronger value inside North Dakota.

3. Power, Cost, And Sustainability

Power is North Dakota’s strongest data center advantage. The state’s commercial electricity rate was 7.46¢/kWh in March 2026, compared with the U.S. commercial average of 13.92¢/kWh. For colocation and high-density compute, this difference can have a major effect on long-term operating cost.

North Dakota has abundant energy resources. Coal plants remain central to the grid, and wind generation has become a major electricity source. In 2024, coal generated about 54% of the state’s electricity, and wind generated about 35%. That creates a mixed profile: strong power availability and a growing renewable component, but higher carbon intensity than states with larger hydro, nuclear, or solar shares.

AI and HPC projects in the state are using the power profile as a core site-selection factor. Applied Digital’s Polaris Forge 1 in Ellendale runs 400 MW of critical IT capacity for CoreWeave across three buildings. The company cites North Dakota’s cool climate, renewable access, and high-density power design as part of its cost model.

Polaris Forge 3 in Center follows the same model, drawing about 430 MW of utility power to deliver 300 MW of critical IT load. The gap of roughly 130 MW goes to cooling, power conversion, and facility overhead, so utility capacity is the first constraint any AI campus in the state has to clear.

Buyers should review power terms carefully. Large-load data center projects can affect utility planning, transmission needs, generation resources, rate design, and community perception. Colocation customers should ask about committed power, utility provider, feeder diversity, generator runtime, power density, cooling design, and whether renewable claims are based on direct supply, contracts, or broader market accounting.

4. Tax Policy And Incentives

North Dakota has a specific sales and use tax exemption for qualified data centers. The exemption covers enterprise information technology equipment and computer software purchased for use in a qualifying facility. Covered categories can include servers, routers, cooling systems, power infrastructure, backup generation systems, batteries, racking, raised flooring, cabling, trays, software, maintenance, licensing, and software customization.

A qualified data center must be located on one parcel or contiguous parcels, contain at least 15,000 sq ft, use at least 50% of the space for data processing, and be newly constructed or substantially refurbished after December 31, 2020. The facility must be certified by the Tax Commissioner and must have fire suppression, fire prevention, and strong security features.

The exemption is useful because data centers buy large volumes of servers, networking equipment, electrical systems, and cooling gear. Removing sales and use tax from those purchases can reduce the total project cost for hyperscale, HPC, and large colocation builds.

North Dakota may provide additional local or general business incentives. New or expanding primary sector businesses can qualify for property tax exemption programs, subject to local approval and primary sector certification. Data center buyers should review each site with tax counsel, utility partners, local economic development officials, and the North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner before assuming incentive eligibility.

5. Workforce And Ecosystem

North Dakota has a tight labor market, with an April 2026 unemployment rate of 2.4%. That signals a healthy economy, but it can make specialized hiring harder for facility technicians, electricians, controls engineers, security staff, network engineers, and critical operations roles.

Fargo is the state’s strongest technical labor market. The area has Microsoft, North Dakota State University, healthcare systems, financial services companies, software firms, managed service providers, and a growing startup base. Grand Forks has the University of North Dakota, aerospace activity, defense-adjacent work, and regional healthcare demand. Bismarck supports government, energy, telecom, and professional services.

Large AI campuses will need a broader workforce strategy than traditional colocation sites. Construction labor, substation work, mechanical systems, electrical systems, fiber splicing, facility operations, and security coverage require close coordination with local contractors and regional suppliers. Applied Digital’s Harwood campus announcement projected more than 200 full-time employees at full operation, in addition to long-term contractors.

North Dakota can support data center operations, but staffing must be planned early. A managed colocation agreement should define covered tasks, response commitments, and exclusions. Buyers should review remote hands coverage, vendor availability, equipment maintenance response times, and winter travel procedures for any site outside Fargo or Grand Forks.

6. Risk And Resiliency

North Dakota’s risk profile is centered on cold weather, snow, wind, hail, flooding, drought, and severe storms. The state does not face hurricane or coastal storm surge risk, which makes it useful for disaster recovery designs that need distance from coastal exposure.

Extreme cold creates practical operating concerns. Facilities need winterized generators, fuel management, battery room controls, freeze protection, roof load review, snow removal plans, and reliable staff access during blizzards. Cold weather can reduce cooling cost, but it does not remove the need for strong mechanical design.

Flooding matters most in eastern North Dakota, especially near the Red River Valley. Fargo and Grand Forks have long flood histories, so site-level floodplain review is essential. Buyers should check elevation, drainage, utility routes, road access, and flood protection measures before selecting a site.

Severe winds and hail can affect roofs, exterior equipment, substations, and fiber routes. Midco’s Fargo facility uses an EF3-rated shell built for sustained winds up to 150 mph, and DCN’s Bismarck and Fargo data centers are built for EF4 tornado-force winds with generator and battery support. These details show why physical hardening is an important buying criterion in the state.

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Key Cities Or Submarkets In North Dakota

North Dakota’s data center market is spread across retail colocation hubs, AI campus locations, and energy-linked compute markets. The submarkets below follow where capacity, connectivity, and development activity sit as of October 2026.

1. Williston

Williston carries North Dakota’s largest planned project and one of its operating high-density sites. Critical Data House is developing Project Fighting Pike, a 455 MW campus of seven 65 MW buildings on 300 acres, with a $5 billion construction budget and another $5 billion earmarked for IT hardware.

The City of Williston approved the master plan on March 17, 2025, and full build-out runs across three phases over ten years.

Atlas Power operates an interruptible load center in Williston that adjusts power draw to grid conditions, serving Bitcoin mining and GPU-as-a-Service workloads.

The Bakken energy base and natural gas supply make the city attractive for operators that can pair compute demand with local power resources.

Williston fits high-density compute, crypto hosting, GPU infrastructure, and energy-integrated operations. Enterprise buyers that need several carriers, cloud on-ramps, or deep remote hands coverage will find a thinner ecosystem there.

Any evaluation needs to cover noise controls, local permitting, power contracts, utility interconnection, and community impact.

2. Fargo

Fargo is North Dakota’s strongest enterprise colocation market, holding 4 of the state’s 6 retail colocation facilities. Midco runs the largest at 16,000 sq ft, a Tier III, SOC 2 certified site at 4624 28th Ave S.

Dakota Carrier Network, 702 Communications, and Fidium operate the other three, with floor space ranging from 1,700 sq ft at Fidium to more than 7,000 sq ft at the 702 Data Center.

The city supports healthcare, financial services, education, government, managed IT, and business continuity use cases across the Red River Valley.

Polaris Forge 2 in nearby Harwood adds AI campus scale to the metro without changing Fargo’s retail colocation character.

Fargo is the first North Dakota market most traditional colocation buyers should evaluate. It offers stronger staffing, better vendor access, and better regional transport options than smaller markets. Floodplain status and winter resilience still require careful review.

3. Ellendale

Ellendale is North Dakota’s largest operating data center market. Applied Digital’s Polaris Forge 1 campus holds 400 MW across three buildings, which is 79% of the 505 MW running statewide, and the full campus is leased to CoreWeave. The first 50 MW phase reached ready-for-service in October 2025, and Building 1 has been online since December 2025.

The project positions Ellendale as a national AI infrastructure location, a different role from a conventional colocation market. Applied Digital cites cool climate, renewable access, high-density power design, and near-zero water consumption as part of the campus model.

Ellendale is best understood as a specialized AI and HPC market. It is not a general-purpose colocation hub like Fargo. Buyers interested in Ellendale need to focus on power delivery, network transport, GPU readiness, cooling design, water use, and tenant access model.

4. Harwood

Harwood, north of Fargo, hosts Applied Digital’s Polaris Forge 2 campus: 300 MW across two buildings on a 900-acre site. Applied Digital announced the project in August 2025 as a $3 billion, 280 MW AI Factory with room to scale, and the planned capacity now stands at 300 MW. Construction was nearing completion in September 2026, with initial operations set for 2026.

Harwood benefits from proximity to Fargo’s workforce, transportation access, and regional fiber networks while offering a larger land profile than a dense urban site. Cass County Electric Cooperative and Minnkota Power Cooperative are part of the project’s power planning.

Harwood is important because it connects North Dakota’s AI campus growth with the Fargo metro area. That gives the region a stronger case for future data center supply chain growth, technician training, power infrastructure, and fiber investment.

5. Center

Center, in Oliver County, is the site of Applied Digital’s Polaris Forge 3 campus, the company’s fourth AI Factory. The campus is designed for 300 MW of critical IT load drawn from about 430 MW of utility power, with initial operations set for August 2027. A U.S. investment-grade hyperscaler signed a 15-year lease for the full 300 MW in May 2026, worth about $7.5 billion in base revenue.

A signed 15-year lease more than a year ahead of first power separates Center from earlier-stage projects such as Bitzero Nekoma, which lists potential capacity with no published timeline. Center is home to Minnkota Power Cooperative’s Milton R. Young coal station, which places the campus next to existing generation and transmission. Buyers tracking the site need to watch substation delivery, transmission upgrades, and fiber transport into Bismarck and Minneapolis.

6. Grand Forks

Grand Forks supports regional colocation, telecom, healthcare, university, and high-density infrastructure use cases, with 2 tracked facilities at opposite ends of the market.

Core Scientific operates the larger one: a 100 MW high-density site with 90,000 sq ft on 20 acres, online since 2021 and offering cabinets, cages, suites, build-to-suit, and remote hands. That makes it the second-largest live footprint in the state. Midco Grand Forks is the retail option at 6,500 sq ft, a Tier II, carrier-neutral facility with dual fiber entrances. The city benefits from the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks Air Force Base, healthcare demand, and connectivity between Fargo, Winnipeg, and Minneapolis.

Grand Forks is best suited for regional continuity, colocation, AI-adjacent infrastructure, and workloads tied to northern North Dakota or the U.S.-Canada corridor. Site review needs to include flood risk, winter access, carrier diversity, and utility capacity.

7. Bismarck

Bismarck is North Dakota’s capital and a practical market for government, healthcare, telecom, energy, and enterprise continuity. Dakota Carrier Network has operated its Bismarck data center at 4202 Coleman St since 2012, in a hardened building rated for EF4 tornado winds with generator and battery plants.

Aurum Capital Ventures has a 300-acre development under consideration in Bismarck for AI and HPC workloads in modular buildings. With no published capacity or timeline, the project signals developer interest more than committed supply.

Bismarck is smaller than Fargo for colocation density, but it can be valuable for organizations with statewide operations. Buyers need to review carrier access, local redundancy, remote hands, and intercity transport to Fargo, Minneapolis, and Denver.

8. Jamestown, Tioga, And Nekoma

Jamestown, Tioga, and Nekoma are smaller or specialized North Dakota markets. Applied Digital operates two Jamestown sites: the 5 MW JMS facility and a separate 106 MW hosting facility whose earlier HPC activity set the stage for the Ellendale and Harwood campuses.

Teton Digital is building Project Trinity in Dry Fork Township near Tioga, a 100 MW full build-out with 30 MW in the first phase set for 2026 and services spanning cabinets, cages, suites, build-to-suit, and remote hands. Nekoma hosts Bitzero Blockchain’s site inside the Cold War Safeguard Complex, known as The Pyramid, where 184 acres support 2.5 MW running today, 30 MW prepped, and 300 MW of potential capacity.

These submarkets suit power-driven or specialized deployments. Fewer carriers, fewer local vendors, and longer service response times make them a weaker fit for buyers that need dense peering, direct cloud access, and broad onsite support.

Notable Colocation Providers And Facilities In North Dakota

North Dakota has a mix of traditional colocation providers, statewide telecom facilities, AI campuses, and high-density compute operators. The following providers and facilities show where capacity and market activity are concentrated.

1. Applied Digital Polaris Forge 1 Ellendale

Applied Digital’s Polaris Forge 1 campus in Ellendale is North Dakota’s largest operating data center, with 400 MW of critical IT capacity across three buildings, all leased to CoreWeave under long-term agreements.

The first 50 MW phase of Building 1 reached ready-for-service in October 2025, and the building has been online since December 2025. The campus is designed for high-density AI and HPC workloads, using liquid cooling and power distribution designs with near-zero water consumption.

Polaris Forge 1 is best suited for AI hyperscale and HPC infrastructure, not standard retail colocation. It shows why North Dakota is gaining attention from AI infrastructure buyers that prioritize power cost, land, cooling climate, and delivery speed.

2. Applied Digital Polaris Forge 2 Harwood

Applied Digital’s Polaris Forge 2 campus near Harwood is planned for 300 MW across two buildings on a 900-acre site. Announced in August 2025 as a $3 billion, 280 MW AI Factory, the campus is expected to create more than 200 full-time jobs at full operation.

Cass County Electric Cooperative supplies the site, and construction was nearing completion in September 2026 ahead of initial operations in 2026. The location near Fargo gives it access to a larger labor pool and better regional network infrastructure than more remote campuses.

Polaris Forge 2 matters because it expands North Dakota’s data center growth from rural power campuses into the Fargo region. It could make the Fargo area more important for AI operations, fiber transport, technical hiring, and data center vendor support.

3. Applied Digital Jamestown Data Centers

Applied Digital runs two sites in Jamestown, Stutsman County: the 5 MW JMS facility and a separate 106 MW data center hosting facility that has supported Bitcoin and high-density compute workloads.

Jamestown gave Applied Digital operating experience in North Dakota before its larger AI infrastructure expansion in Ellendale, Harwood, and Center. The sites benefit from abundant power, cool climate, and a central North Dakota location.

Jamestown is more relevant for energy-heavy compute than conventional colocation. Buyers need to evaluate tenant model, workload fit, conversion potential, power source, and network transport before treating it as a general enterprise option.

4. Midco Fargo Data Center

Midco’s Fargo data center at 4624 28th Ave S is a 16,000 sq ft facility, expandable to 28,000 sq ft, built to Tier III standards and SOC 2 certified. It sits outside high-risk flood exposure areas and uses an EF3-rated shell designed for sustained winds up to 150 mph.

The facility supports colocation, smart hands, 24×7 network and facility monitoring, VESDA detection, clean-agent fire protection, generator backup, and connectivity through Midco’s regional network.

Midco Fargo is one of the best fits in North Dakota for traditional enterprise colocation. It supports healthcare, financial services, education, public sector, and midmarket IT teams that need a professionally operated Fargo-area site.

5. Midco Grand Forks Data Center

Midco’s Grand Forks data center at 3251 32nd Ave S gives northeastern North Dakota a 6,500 sq ft retail colocation option. The Tier II, carrier-neutral facility has dual fiber entrances and offers cages, private and partial cabinets, and remote hands.

Grand Forks is useful for organizations with operations in northern North Dakota, northwest Minnesota, and the U.S.-Canada corridor. The market has university, healthcare, aviation, defense-adjacent, and public sector demand.

The facility is best suited for regional continuity, smaller production environments, backup systems, and organizations that want infrastructure close to Grand Forks operations. Cabinet availability, power density, and carrier options are the items to verify during sourcing.

6. Dakota Carrier Network Data Centers

Dakota Carrier Network operates two North Dakota data centers: Fargo at 3901 Great Plains Dr S, online since 2006, and Bismarck at 4202 Coleman St, online since 2012. Both offer suites, cages, and private and partial cabinets.

DCN serves critical institutions, including healthcare, public safety, state government, financial organizations, and communications providers. Both buildings are hardened for EF4 tornado winds, and the Bismarck site adds generator and battery plants. That physical hardening matters in a state where high wind, hail, and severe storms are part of the risk profile.

DCN is best suited for network-centric colocation, private transport, public sector workloads, telecom aggregation, and statewide business continuity. It is especially relevant for organizations that need reach across North Dakota beyond one metro site.

7. Fidium Fargo Data Center

Fidium, formerly Consolidated Communications, operates a Fargo data center at 3312 42nd St S, Suite 100, with 1,700 sq ft of cabinet floor area. Power runs through a 650 kW onsite generator and three 80 kVA UPS systems.

The facility offers 45U full and 22U half cabinets, private and partial cabinets, and remote hands. It suits smaller colocation footprints, local business continuity, and network-connected workloads tied to a telecom provider.

Its compact size puts it in a different class from Midco or DCN. Buyers need to confirm power capacity per cabinet, carrier options, service levels, and current availability before committing.

8. 702 Communications Fargo Data Center

The 702 Data Center at 2911 Fiechtner Dr offers more than 7,000 sq ft of colocation space built above Tier 2 specifications. Its customer base spans retail businesses and internet and transport carriers.

702 Communications serves Fargo, West Fargo, Wahpeton, Moorhead, Dilworth, and Breckenridge, pairing colocation with server hosting, private connectivity, managed IT, data backup, storage, monitoring, and maintenance services.

The facility is best suited for small businesses, local enterprises, and regional organizations that need hands-on provider support in the Fargo-Moorhead area. Larger high-density deployments need a comparison against Midco, DCN, and regional options outside the state.

9. Core Scientific Grand Forks Data Center

Core Scientific’s Grand Forks facility has 100 MW of fully built-out power, 90,000 sq ft of space, and 20 acres of land, and it has been online since 2021. Services include cabinets, cages, suites, build-to-suit, and remote hands.

At 100 MW, the site holds about one-fifth of North Dakota’s tracked live capacity. Grand Forks gives it access to regional power and fiber routes between Minneapolis, Fargo, and Winnipeg.

Core Scientific Grand Forks is best suited for high-density compute and AI-adjacent workloads. Buyers comparing AI colocation options should verify current availability, power density per rack, and cooling design for their hardware.

10. Atlas Power Williston Data Center

Atlas Power operates an interruptible load center in Williston that adjusts its power use to grid conditions. The site runs Bitcoin mining and GPU-as-a-Service workloads.

The flexible load model lets the operator draw heavily when grid capacity is available and curtail during peaks, a fit for the Bakken region’s energy profile. Capacity for the site is not published.

Atlas Power is best suited for energy-linked high-density hosting, not conventional enterprise colocation. Buyers need to review noise management, site compliance, grid impact, power contracts, cooling model, and community relations during evaluation.

11. Applied Digital Polaris Forge 3 Center

Polaris Forge 3 in Center, Oliver County, is planned for 300 MW of critical IT load from about 430 MW of utility power. Initial operations are set for August 2027.

A U.S. investment-grade hyperscaler holds a 15-year lease on the full 300 MW, worth about $7.5 billion in base revenue. The deal pushed Applied Digital past one gigawatt of contracted capacity, and North Dakota hosts three of the company’s four AI Factory campuses.

Polaris Forge 3 is a hyperscale build with no retail colocation access. It matters to the market because a committed tenant two years out signals sustained demand for North Dakota power, transmission, and construction labor.

12. Project Fighting Pike Williston

Critical Data House is developing Project Fighting Pike in Williston as seven 65 MW buildings on 300 acres, for 455 MW in total. It is the largest planned data center project in North Dakota.

The investment plan totals $5 billion for construction plus $5 billion for IT hardware, and the build-out runs across three phases over ten years.

The campus is an early-stage, energy-region project with no published tenant. Buyers tracking it need to watch phase one delivery, utility interconnection, and carrier routes into Williston.

13. Project Trinity Tioga

Teton Digital is building Project Trinity in Dry Fork Township near Tioga, Williams County, with 100 MW at full build-out and 30 MW in the first phase, expected in 2026.

The site offers cabinets, cages, suites, build-to-suit, and remote hands, which gives western North Dakota a retail-style service menu at high-density scale.

Project Trinity suits buyers that want power-region economics with colocation-style contracts. Carrier diversity and response times in a remote market are the points to test.

14. Bitzero Nekoma

Bitzero Blockchain operates a site on 184 acres inside the Cold War Safeguard Complex in Nekoma, Cavalier County, known as The Pyramid. 2.5 MW runs today, 30 MW is prepped, and the site has 300 MW of potential capacity.

The hardened military site and its existing power infrastructure make it an unusual fit for high-density and blockchain compute.

Bitzero Nekoma is a specialized, early-stage site. No completion timeline is published, so the 300 MW figure represents potential capacity, not a delivery commitment.

Recent Developments In North Dakota

• March 2025: The City of Williston approved the master plan for Critical Data House’s Project Fighting Pike, a 455 MW campus of seven buildings on 300 acres.
• August 2025: Applied Digital announced Polaris Forge 2 near Harwood as a $3 billion, 280 MW AI Factory campus. Planned capacity has since grown to 300 MW across two buildings.
• August 2025: Applied Digital finalized an additional 150 MW lease with CoreWeave at Polaris Forge 1 in Ellendale, bringing the campus to 400 MW of critical IT capacity under long-term CoreWeave leases.
• September 2025: North Dakota’s Legislative Council reviewed the qualified data center sales tax exemption as part of an economic development tax incentive study. The review focused on incentive purpose, fiscal impact, jobs, local incentives, and potential negative effects.
• October 2025: Applied Digital reached ready-for-service for the first 50 MW phase of Building 1 at Polaris Forge 1 in Ellendale.
• December 2025: Building 1 at Polaris Forge 1 came online, putting the first full building of North Dakota’s largest operating campus into service.
• March 2026: EIA data showed North Dakota’s average commercial electricity rate at 7.46¢/kWh, keeping the state among the most cost-competitive U.S. power markets for data center operations.
• April 2026: North Dakota’s unemployment rate was 2.4%, second-lowest among states. That signals a strong labor market and creates hiring pressure for specialized data center operations roles.
• May 2026: Applied Digital signed a 15-year, 300 MW lease with a U.S. investment-grade hyperscaler for Polaris Forge 3 in Center, worth about $7.5 billion in base revenue, with operations starting in August 2027.
• May 2026: Midco and Switch announced a five-year, multistate 400G connectivity agreement supporting AI infrastructure in Ellendale, pulling higher-capacity fiber into the state.
• September 2026: Polaris Forge 2 in Harwood neared completion ahead of initial operations in 2026.

How Brightlio Can Help With Colocation In North Dakota

Brightlio helps organizations compare North Dakota colocation, high-density compute, cloud connectivity, and disaster recovery options across Fargo, Grand Forks, Bismarck, Ellendale, Harwood, Center, Jamestown, Williston, Tioga, and nearby Midwest markets. Our team helps clients evaluate power pricing, available capacity, network diversity, cooling design, compliance needs, and long-term site risk.

We compare providers such as Midco, Dakota Carrier Network, Fidium, 702 Communications, Applied Digital, Core Scientific, Atlas Power, Teton Digital, and other regional operators. For North Dakota projects, we pay close attention to commercial electricity exposure, utility agreements, generator runtime, fuel plans, cooling systems, winterization, floodplain status, wind hardening, carrier routes, and expansion rights.

Brightlio can support cabinet, cage, private suite, single-tenant, high-density, AI, and multi-site disaster recovery planning. Contact Brightlio to start planning a cost-effective and resilient colocation deployment in North Dakota.

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