As AI investors eye Montana for new data centers, communities brace for water impacts

Data centers are rapidly expanding in Montana, with companies like Quantica and Sabey planning major projects to support the growing artificial intelligence industry. However, these projects raise concerns about their water usage and impact on local communities. Quantica is planning a 5,000-acre "high-performance computing" campus that could require up to 1 gigawatt of power, while Sabey Data Centers has reached an agreement to purchase land in Butte and use local water resources for cooling. Environmental groups warn that the data center developers have been reluctant to provide detailed information about their water usage and the potential impacts on Montana's water resources. Local officials and experts are grappling with how to address the challenges posed by these large-scale data center projects.