Williams County approves conditional use permit for 30 MW cryptocurrency data center in Dry Fork Township

Williams County commissioners voted to follow the planning and zoning recommendation and approved a conditional use permit for Enerfor Digital Valley LLC to build and operate a 30‑megawatt cryptocurrency data‑mining facility in a Heavy Industrial zoning district in Dry Fork Township.

The permit allows construction of a single 66‑by‑322‑foot building to house servers, 10 transformers around the building perimeter and one electrical vault, plus security fencing and onsite stormwater ponds. The applicant requested a variance from the county’s one‑mile setback requirement; the closest residence cited in county filings is about 0.86 miles from the site. Planning and Zoning recommended approval by a 9–0 vote before the commissioners took up the matter.

The project will draw power under a signed, interruptible power agreement with Montreal Williams Electric Cooperative for up to 30 megawatts. County staff and the applicant described that interruptible or curtailable arrangement as giving priority to residential and agricultural customers when the cooperative issues curtailment notices; the applicant said it can reduce and restore load in near real time.

Company representatives told the board the site is in an existing industrial park with a nearby substation and that the facility will use air‑cooled equipment optimized for North Dakota’s cold climate. The applicant representative described steps taken to study and limit noise: the company commissioned a sound study by an outside engineering firm and superimposed measured noise from a comparable building onto the Dry Fork site. "If you look and Google it, [35 decibels] is just a smidgen above a whisper in a library," the applicant representative said when explaining the study’s contours. The applicant also said the facility’s internal layout—miners placed 20 feet from exterior walls, hot‑aisle exhaust routed upward—and building finishes are intended to reduce exterior sound levels.

Dewey Bailey of Bakken Power Consulting, who described his background in local power generation projects, said the applicant has engaged local contractors for civil and electrical work and identified a general contractor and engineering firms for the project. Company materials presented to the board project roughly 40 construction jobs during buildout and an estimated 25–30 full‑time operations jobs once the facility opens. The applicant estimated the capital investment in the facility at about $10–$15 million.

Commission discussion touched on landscaping and additional sound mitigation. A commissioner asked whether the company would consider a solid row of evergreen trees around the site to dampen sound; the applicant replied it was "very open to that" and called the site a potential showcase. The applicant also said any future change in use that would alter the scope (for example, converting to an AI data center) would require returning to the county for a new conditional use permit.

The board moved to follow Planning and Zoning’s recommendation and the county’s permit conditions; the motion carried.

Next steps noted in the meeting: the permit holder must complete any required building and utility permits, comply with the curtailment agreement with Montreal Williams Electric Cooperative, and meet any conditions included in the county approval before construction begins.