Applied Digital expands in North Dakota, eyes Oliver County for third data center
Applied Digital is expanding its operations in North Dakota, eyeing Oliver County for its third AI data center. The company signed a road use agreement with Oliver County for a site near Hanover, while a rezoning request for the "AI Factory" is still awaiting a county vote. The project has faced some controversy, including a recently repealed county moratorium on data centers.
Applied Digital Corp., through its subsidiary APLD BIS-01, LLC, is planning to build a third artificial intelligence data center in Oliver County, North Dakota. On July 10, the Oliver County commissioners signed a road use and operations agreement with the company, outlining terms for construction access to the proposed site south of Hanover, near the intersection of state Highways 25 and 31.
The agreement dictates that heavy construction vehicles will use a private road off Highway 31, preventing them from traveling on county roads. It also includes environmental and community conditions negotiated by the county. Applied Digital has submitted a rezoning application for the "AI Factory" near Center, which is still awaiting a county vote. The company aims to break ground this summer and complete the facility within 18 to 24 months, expecting to create approximately 200 full-time jobs and 1,000 temporary construction jobs.
The Oliver County project has generated some public debate, with residents raising concerns at public meetings. Notably, the county commission voted to repeal a 180-day moratorium on data centers it had enacted the previous month. Applied Digital already operates the Polaris Forge 1 data center in Ellendale and is constructing Polaris Forge 2 near Harwood, a 280-megawatt AI facility leased to Oracle, funded by a $2.15 billion bond offering and supported by a $110 million power project approved by the North Dakota Public Service Commission.