Montana

Energy/Power is the dominant stressor: the dispute is centered on who pays for grid upgrades, generation, and transmission for very large new loads, with NorthWestern potentially serving up to 1,400 MW for three data-center developers (Earthjustice). Water/Geology is the second major pressure point: Broadview, Butte, and Bonner debates all feature cooling-water availability, aquifers, and river impacts (Montana Free Press, KPAX).

U.S. House MT-01 Democratic primary: Sam Forstag, Russ Cleveland, Ryan Busse, and Matt Rains have all engaged the issue in candidate forums, with Forstag/Cleveland more skeptical and Rains emphasizing transparency and economic benefits (Montana Free Press). No other 2026 Montana race with clearly documented data-center salience identified.

No statewide moratorium or ban has been enacted as of May 2026. A March 2026 op-ed by Democratic state Rep. Scott Rosenzweig called for a four-year state moratorium, but that was advocacy, not law (Flathead Beacon, Hagadone News Network). Montana’s PSC is instead in the middle of transparency and ratepayer disputes over NorthWestern Energy’s data-center letters of intent, while local governments in places like Butte and Missoula County are scrutinizing specific proposals (Earthjustice, KPAX).

No enacted Montana statute specifically reallocating grid-upgrade costs to data centers was identified in the available 2025-2026 sources. The issue is being fought through PSC complaints and tariff/rate-design arguments: in November 2025, Earthjustice and allies asked the PSC to create a separate customer class and mandatory tariff so data-center customers, not residential ratepayers, pay supply costs and associated transmission/generation upgrades (Earthjustice). Montana Free Press also reported that watchdogs fear NorthWestern customers could end up paying for the plants, substations, and transmission lines needed for new data centers (Montana Free Press).

None identified.

1) Big Sky Digital Infrastructure, south of Broadview / Yellowstone County, developer Quantica Infrastructure; proposed up to 1 GW campus, facing concerns over water, zoning, and secrecy (Montana Free Press). 2) Sabey Data Centers site, west of Butte / Montana Connections Business Park, developer Sabey Data Centers; proposed 250 MW facility with a pending land deal and water-cooling questions (Montana Free Press, Montana Free Press). 3) Bonner/Krambu proposal at the former Bonner Mill Industrial Park, Missoula County; proposed up to 29 MW in initial county review, with a petition and planning-board scrutiny underway (KPAX, Field & Stream).

Montana Environmental Information Center (MEIC); Earthjustice Northern Rockies Office; Butte Watchdogs for Social and Environmental Justice; Climate Smart Missoula; Helena Interfaith Climate Advocates; Honor the Earth; Montana Public Interest Research Group; NW Energy Coalition; Golden Triangle Resource Council; Montana Trout Unlimited.

None identified at the state political-surface layer as of May 2026. Talent and workforce dynamics in Montana surface primarily at the sub-state and labor-market level — county and municipal proceedings on named projects, regional building trades council positions, and utility commission workforce testimony — which are out of scope for the tracker's state-political-surface read. Request a full RAIL briefing for sub-state and labor-market analysis.

Emerging. Montana is not yet a major hub, but it has multiple large proposed projects and at least a handful of existing/smaller operations; Montana Free Press reported NorthWestern had agreements with at least three data centers and interest from at least 11 companies as of February 2026 (Montana Free Press).

“NorthWestern has ‘short-circuited’ the public’s right to know and ... Montanans stand to get burned by the deals NorthWestern is executing in secret” — Earthjustice summary of the November 2025 PSC complaint (Earthjustice).

Montana Free Press — What happens to utility bills when data centers come to town?, Montana Free Press — As AI investors eye Montana for new data centers, communities brace for water impacts, Earthjustice — Groups File Complaint to Stop NorthWestern Energy from Shifting Data Center Costs to Residential Customers, Earthjustice — Groups Challenge Montana PSC Order That Shields Data Center Plans from Public View, KPAX — Missoula resident starts petition opposing Bonner data center, Montana Free Press — Fittingly so, Butte in the middle of data center debate