ND — State Policy Updated 2026-07-17

North Dakota

Data-center-specific sales/use tax exemption Other state/local incentives that can apply to data centers Statewide restrictions Zoning restrictions and siting standards Proposed/draft restrictions and recent moratorium activity

1) Incentive programs

Data-center-specific sales/use tax exemption

Other state/local incentives that can apply to data centers (not data-center-specific)

  • New or Expanding Business Property Tax Exemption (N.D.C.C. ch. 40-57.1): Local governments may grant a property tax exemption for up to 5 years, with up to 5 additional years for agricultural processors or government-leased property, and PILOT agreements up to 20 years. Requires primary sector certification and local approval. Source: North Dakota Tax Commissioner, accessed 2026-06-10.
  • Renaissance Zone incentives (N.D.C.C. ch. 40-63): Income and property tax incentives may be available in designated municipal renaissance zones, administered locally with state approval. Source: North Dakota Tax Commissioner, accessed 2026-06-10.
  • Income tax exemption for new/expanding business (N.D.C.C. ch. 40-57.1): Available through the State Board of Equalization; application is required within 1 year of operations and competitor notice procedures apply. Source: North Dakota Tax Commissioner, accessed 2026-06-10.
  • Research expense credit (N.D.C.C. § 57-38-30.5): State income tax credit for qualified North Dakota research expenses. Source: North Dakota Commerce, accessed 2026-06-10.
  • Computer/telecom equipment sales tax exemption for primary sector businesses (N.D.C.C. § 57-39.2-04.3): Sales/use tax exemption for computer and telecommunications equipment integral to a new primary sector business or economic expansion; replacement equipment is excluded. Source: North Dakota Tax Commissioner, 2025.

2) Restrictions and moratoriums

Statewide restrictions

Zoning restrictions and siting standards (county-level examples)

  • Williams County CUP requirements: Williams County requires a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for data centers, allows them in the Heavy Industrial (HI) district, and added data centers as conditional uses in the Agricultural (AG) district through an August 20, 2024 amendment. Sources: Williams County Zoning Ordinance, 2024-01-02; Williams County, accessed 2026-06-10.
  • Williams County setbacks and standards: Williams County requires at least 1 mile from sensitive properties, 3 miles from any existing data center, underground electrical wiring, security fencing, buffering/landscaping, lighting controls, storm drainage/erosion controls, road maintenance agreements, and financial security equal to 125% of estimated maintenance and reclamation costs. Source: Williams County Zoning Ordinance, 2024-01-02.
  • Stutsman County adopted ordinance (February 24, 2026): Stutsman County moved from draft language to an adopted data-center zoning section. Data centers now require a CUP and are permitted only in the Agricultural, Commercial, and Industrial zoning districts. Applications must include anticipated water and electricity needs, an acoustic study, a project-area map, permits/documentation, and a signed electrical power purchase agreement before the Board of County Commissioners may approve a CUP. Source: Stutsman County Zoning Ordinance, 2026-02-24.
  • Stutsman County setbacks and operating standards: The adopted ordinance requires 2-mile setbacks from dwellings, schools, places of religious assembly, and parks; 3-mile separation from existing data centers; underground electrical wiring except for interconnections; 6-foot security fencing; lighting directed downward; possible road maintenance agreements; storm drainage/erosion/grading plans; facade design elements facing roads or residential districts; and a development agreement that may include financial security, road, stormwater, reclamation, and restoration provisions. Source: Stutsman County Zoning Ordinance, 2026-02-24.

Proposed/draft restrictions and recent moratorium activity

  • Morton County (moratorium remains while standards are drafted): Morton County states it adopted a moratorium on data centers and cryptocurrency mining facilities in September 2024, a statewide model ordinance working group completed a model ordinance in January 2026, and county staff presented draft data-center standards on February 25, March 25, and April 22, 2026. On May 27, 2026, the Planning & Zoning Commission formed a subcommittee for final edits to a draft data-center standards amendment. Source: Morton County, accessed 2026-06-10.
  • Mercer County (one-year moratorium adopted March 3, 2026): Mercer County commissioners voted 3-2 to impose a 1-year moratorium on data-center permitting after residents raised concerns about a proposed NextEra Energy Resources / Basin Electric Cooperative data center project and asked for more zoning work to preserve local control. Source: Mercer County Commission minutes, 2026-03-03.
  • Mercer County draft standards (still pending July 17, 2026): A July 1 first-reading draft superseded the June 10 working draft. It classifies small data centers as 10-50 MW and large data centers as more than 50 MW; limits them to the Industrial District with a CUP and development permit; requires five-mile notice, at least a half-mile setback from a data-center noise source to sensitive receptors (or more if needed for noise compliance), water-supply and conservation plans, environmental review for large facilities, full-buildout electrical-service and cost-recovery documentation, annual power/phasing reports, and decommissioning security. Mercer County’s document index showed further redline materials for the July 15 Planning & Zoning meeting, so the one-year moratorium remained in place and the ordinance was not treated as final at the cutoff. Sources: Mercer County draft data-center ordinance, 2026-07-01; Mercer County Planning & Zoning document index, accessed 2026-07-17.
  • Oliver County (moratorium adopted, then lifted): Oliver County Planning & Zoning recommended a 36-month moratorium on February 26, 2026, after public comment; the County Commission instead approved a 180-day data-center and cryptocurrency mining moratorium on March 13, 2026; and the County Commission lifted that moratorium on April 30, 2026, before completed data-center ordinances were ready for review. Sources: Oliver County Planning & Zoning minutes, 2026-02-26; Oliver County Commission minutes, 2026-03-13; Oliver County Commission minutes, 2026-04-30.
  • Oliver County project-specific zoning and operating agreement: After the moratorium was lifted, Oliver County noticed a May 19 zoning-map amendment for all of Section 24, Township 142 North, Range 85 West. The county then signed a road-use and operations agreement with Applied Digital subsidiary APLD BIS-01 LLC on July 10. It restricts heavy traffic to state-highway approaches absent county approval, prohibits wastewater discharge into the aquifer, requires the initial closed-loop cooling-system fill to be trucked in rather than drawn onsite, and requires offsite septic-waste hauling and coordination on emergency-service funding. The agreement did not itself approve the rezoning; reporting on July 13 said the county had not yet voted on the zoning request. Sources: Oliver County road-use and operations agreement, 2026-07-10; Valley News Live, 2026-07-13.
  • Barnes County (six-month moratorium reported May 19, 2026): Barnes County commissioners voted to place a 6-month moratorium on potential data centers while the county sets guidelines; local reporting said Valley City and the development corporation were not aware of a pending company approach, apart from the known Ellendale project elsewhere in the state. Source: News Dakota, 2026-05-19.

3) Local governance (state vs. local control)

  • Local zoning remains the primary data-center siting control. County actions in Williams, Stutsman, Morton, Mercer, Oliver, and Barnes show that local governments are setting moratoriums, CUP standards, setbacks, acoustic-study requirements, utility documentation requirements, and rezoning decisions. Sources: Williams County Zoning Ordinance, 2024-01-02; Stutsman County Zoning Ordinance, 2026-02-24; Mercer County Commission minutes, 2026-03-03; Oliver County Commission minutes, 2026-04-30.
  • State regulatory role is indirect for data centers. The Public Service Commission regulates utilities and transmission infrastructure, but the public record in 2026 continues to show data-center land-use decisions being made through counties and utility/transmission service issues being handled through PSC utility proceedings rather than a statewide data-center siting certificate. Sources: North Dakota Legislative Branch bill overview HB 1427, 2025; North Dakota PSC, 2026-01-09.
  • Community opposition patterns: County records and 2026 coverage show recurring concerns about tonal and low-frequency noise, utility rates, local control, transparency, land-use compatibility, water, wildlife, traffic, and whether enforceable ordinances and reclamation security are in place before projects advance. Oliver County commissioners heard project-specific noise and health concerns on June 5, and public concern dominated the new state committee’s July 15 comment period; one legislator urged local governments to consider a nine-month pause until the 2027 Legislature can act. Sources: KFYR, 2026-06-05; KFGO, 2026-07-16.

4) Legislative activity (2024-2026)

5) Notable projects and operators in North Dakota

  • Applied Digital - Polaris Forge 1 (Ellendale): After reporting the first 100 MW building operational in April, Applied Digital declared the first 75 MW phase of its second building ready for service on July 1, bringing live critical-IT capacity to 175 MW. The fully leased campus is contracted for 400 MW at full buildout. The company also closed a $300 million bridge facility in May and priced $1.59 billion of notes in June for 150 MW at ELN-04. Sources: Applied Digital, 2026-07-01; Applied Digital, 2026-05-04; Applied Digital, 2026-06-09.
  • Applied Digital - Polaris Forge 2 (Harwood): The project was announced in 2025 as a $3 billion campus with a 280 MW gross design; current company materials describe 200 MW of critical IT load, initial capacity in 2026, and full capacity by early 2027. Applied Digital completed a $2.15 billion senior-secured-note offering in March to fund construction, and its SEC filing identifies Oracle as the lessee. Sources: Applied Digital, 2026-03-04; Applied Digital Form 8-K, 2026-03-10; Applied Digital, 2026-04-08.
  • Applied Digital - Polaris Forge 3 (Oliver County / Center proposal): MDU and Applied Digital formally identified the Center-area project as Polaris Forge 3 on June 22. The proposed campus would require 430 MW of utility capacity to support 300 MW of critical IT load, target initial operation in August 2027, and carry a 15-year hyperscaler lease valued by Applied Digital at $7.5 billion over the base term and $18.2 billion if all options are exercised. The electric service agreement and other regulatory filings still require PSC approval, and the local rezoning remained pending on July 13. Sources: Montana-Dakota Utilities and Applied Digital, 2026-06-22; Applied Digital, 2026-05-20; Valley News Live, 2026-07-13.
  • Applied Digital - Jamestown: Local reporting says Applied Digital began in North Dakota with a 106 MW Jamestown blockchain center, an $82 million investment now employing about 40 people. Source: Minot Daily News, 2026-05-07.
  • Atlas Power / Williston area: Earlier state materials described a $1.9B, 600 MW campus near Williston with 30 full-time jobs and up to 100 construction workers; 2026 local reporting says a Williston-area data-center facility faces a noise lawsuit from area residents. Sources: Office of Governor Doug Burgum, 2022-01-26; Minot Daily News, 2026-05-07.
  • River Run (Mercer County proposal): NextEra Energy Resources and Basin Electric describe a proposed 1,450 MW combined-cycle gas plant serving an associated multi-gigawatt data-center campus. Their project FAQ estimated combined capital investment at approximately $18 billion as of March 2026. The project remained exploratory and subject to development and county processes under Mercer’s moratorium; the investment figure is a developer estimate, not an approval or expenditure to date. Sources: Basin Electric, 2026-04-09; NextEra Energy Resources project FAQ, accessed 2026-07-17.
  • Nakota (Williams County / Williston proposal): A June 15 SEC-filed letter of intent between Nixxy and Tachyon 9 describes a preliminary 620-acre campus about five miles west of Williston, with land-option rights and phased capacity of up to 1 GW. Company materials describe approximately $1 billion of planned power and energy infrastructure investment and an initial 120-150 MW phase targeted for the second quarter of 2027. The transaction and development remained subject to definitive agreements, approvals, and proof of development rights, so this is an announced proposal rather than a permitted project. Sources: Nixxy SEC Form 8-K, 2026-06-15; Nixxy SEC-filed project release, 2026-06-09.
  • Other proposed operators: Local reporting in May 2026 also identified Critical Data House as proposing a Williston facility. Source: Minot Daily News, 2026-05-07.

Gaps / items to verify locally

  • Oliver County’s rezoning request remained pending in the most recent dated report reviewed (July 13), despite the July 10 road-use agreement; a later formal zoning vote was not located by the July 17 cutoff. Source: Valley News Live, 2026-07-13.
  • Mercer County continued to post ordinance redlines through its July 15 Planning & Zoning meeting; a final adoption or express lifting of its one-year moratorium was not located by the cutoff. Source: Mercer County Planning & Zoning document index, accessed 2026-07-17.
  • Additional township-level restrictions may exist but were not comprehensively reviewed beyond county-level materials and searchable local reports.