“Ellendale is a shining example of the public and private sectors working hand-in-hand to drive economic growth and meet workforce needs,” Armstrong said after inspecting the projects with Ellendale Mayor Don Flaherty, Dickey County Commission Chair Brandon Carlson, North Dakota Commerce Commissioner Chris Schilken, Bank of North Dakota (BND) President Don Morgan and officials from Applied Digital and Headwaters Development LLC. “The collaboration among the city, Applied Digital and Headwaters Development to develop this game-changing project, expand housing options and meet infrastructure needs with state support has been remarkable.”
Applied Digital continues to build out a high-performance computing (HPC) AI data center in Ellendale, having first completed a crypto mining facility in 2023. The current 380,000-square-foot HPC facility is expected to begin operations late this year and will be followed by two additional 900,000-square-foot expansions, representing a combined investment of $5 billion and hundreds of new jobs.
To attract and accommodate new workers for the expansion, Applied Digital is partnering with Headwaters Development and the Bank of North Dakota to build 20 news homes and a 38-unit apartment complex in Ellendale. It’s the first housing project to utilize the state’s Rural-Workforce Initiative to Support Housing (R-WISH) pilot program, which supports rural communities of 20,000 residents or less with construction of market rate housing for workforce when a company is locating or expanding its operations. Approved last June by the state Industrial Commission, the R-WISH program will utilize up to $10 million of BND capital to complement the work being done by the North Dakota Housing Finance Agency and the Housing Initiative Advisory Committee.
In addition to the R-WISH program, Armstrong highlighted a proposed Commerce program to address housing needs through a public-private partnership structure called Housing for Opportunity, Mobility and Empowerment (HOME), which is moving through the legislative process. Senate Bill 2225 contains $45 million that would be used to leverage local and private sector matches, creating a $135 million investment that rural communities can tailor to fit their unique housing needs.
With the signing of HB 1539, on-site backup electric generation that exceeds 50 megawatts and is not connected to the power grid will no longer be subject to the North Dakota Public Service Commission’s Siting Act. This will allow data centers and other businesses to add on-site backup generation more easily with local approval while still complying with environmental protections. In testimony on the bill, Applied Digital, which also has a facility in Jamestown, said backup power generation will protect workers and equipment from unintentional harm caused by unexpected disconnection from the power grid and will allow the data center’s large load to operate off-grid in emergency situations, improving the reliability of the grid for other customers and the grid’s operators. The change in law will take effect Aug. 1.