Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use Infrastructure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Dunn County committee opens formal review of modular data centers, invites developer to present
Summary
County staff and residents pressed the committee to clarify how modular data centers would be defined, sited and limited; staff reported a Colorado company has expressed interest and the committee asked staff to invite the developer for a technical briefing and gather information on electrical and water impacts.
The Dunn County Planning, Resources & Development Committee on June 18 heard public concern and staff briefings as it opened a formal process to examine modular data centers and their potential impacts in rural parts of the county.
Citizen Bob Cook warned the committee about incremental expansion of small, containerized facilities, asking, “What’s to keep them from expanding from five to 10 to 100?” and urged special exemptions or limits to prevent unchecked growth. Jesse Singer House, who identified himself as CEO of Dun Cooperative, told the committee the company that has discussed siting with local utilities is separate from recent city projects and emphasized that electrical infrastructure — substations and transmission lines — typically limits large projects in rural areas.
County staff framed the issue as a zoning and planning question with multiple technical inputs. Zoning staff said modular data centers are “a type of digital infrastructure… often constructed using containerized or prefabricated components” and noted the county has not received a site‑specific application. Staff highlighted four areas for information: definition/scale, electrical demand (proximity to transmission/substations), cooling/water use and operational security/visual impacts.
Committee members said the next step should be technical briefings. Several supervisors and staff asked for clarifying information on water use and cooling systems (closed‑loop vs. once‑through water), and emphasized the need to map transmission lines and substations to assess where power capacity would realistically allow data centers. Staff reported a company based in Colorado has expressed interest and indicated the developer would be willing to present; the committee asked staff to invite the company (virtual or in‑person) and to collect background material ahead of that meeting.
Tammy, the county zoning presenter, said some planning tools already used for other infrastructure projects (e.g., wireless communications towers) could be adapted to evaluate impacts and noted overlay zoning is commonly used to manage intensive, site‑specific uses without permanently rezoning large tracts.
What happens next: staff will compile background materials on electrical transmission and water requirements for modular data centers, reach out to the interested developer to arrange a briefing, and report back to the committee (possible virtual presentation targeted for the July 2 meeting).
