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Developer presents plan for a small modular data center near Dunn County ethanol plant
Summary
Eric Shannon of NODIAC told the Dunn County planning committee on July 16 that his company proposes a 2-megawatt modular data center near an existing ethanol plant in Hay River Township; he said the build would be small, prefabricated, pay its own interconnection costs, use closed-loop cooling and seek county text-amendment rules before applying for conditional permits.
Eric Shannon, a representative of NODIAC, presented a proposal to the Dunn County Planning, Resources and Development Committee on July 16 for a small, modular data center sited near an ethanol plant in Hay River Township.
Shannon described the initial facility as roughly a half-acre footprint of prefabricated, containerized modules designed to house IT and power infrastructure. He said the developer is proposing a 2-megawatt configuration for the first build, which the company expects could be constructed in four to six months because most components are prefabricated off-site.
Shannon said the company has a lease with the landowner for a roughly 39-acre parcel and an exploratory area of about 5–10 acres for siting. “We want to be intentional and early in the development process with the community,” he told the committee, adding the firm intends to fit the project to the local setting and to propose objective permit conditions if approved.
On power and interconnection, Shannon said Dunn Electric Cooperative indicated about 2 megawatts would be readily available on the distribution system; NODIAC would pay interconnection upgrade costs and would not seek special electric rates. “We pay our own way,” he said, saying the predictable, steady load of the facility could spread fixed costs across the system. During questions, a utility representative identified as Jesse said any expansion would require formal interconnection studies and suggested the local transmission line might support on the order of 10 megawatts of additional capacity; upgrades and associated costs would be identified in those studies.
Shannon described the cooling system as closed-loop liquid cooling filled initially—he estimated—at under 5,000 gallons, a one-time fill that would only need replacement every several years. He said the fluid would be food-grade propylene glycol, which he characterized as non-hazardous, and that the company would file any necessary Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources permits and use licensed wastewater handlers when fluids are eventually removed.
Addressing concerns about sound and lighting, Shannon said the facility would use shielded, downward-facing and motion-sensor lighting and that closed-loop cooling equipment would generate about 70 decibels on-site; acoustic modeling would be done before construction to confirm that predicted levels dissipate to approximately 40–50 decibels at the nearest residence, which he said is more than 1,000 feet away.
On taxes and jobs, Shannon said NODIAC is not seeking tax abatements and expects to pay full taxes; he said a small operation would require minimal permanent staff (he estimated one full-time on-call employee) but would seek unionized local labor for construction and local contractors for site services. He also outlined possible community benefits the developer said it would consider, such as household electric bill credits or funds for local conservation easements, while stressing proposals would be negotiated with the community.
Steve Hogseth, a public commenter, urged the committee to consider the broader trend around data center approvals and regulatory protections, citing concerns that large projects can shift fiscal risk to utilities and ratepayers. Committee members asked technical questions about acreage, scaling and interconnection; Shannon said a 2 MW build would not require substation upgrades but that a larger, future expansion (he cited up to 20 MW as a possible scale) could require substation or transformer work and would be subject to utility studies and county permit conditions.
Shannon asked the county to consider a narrowly tailored text amendment that would define and cap “small modular data centers” in agricultural zoning so future conditional use permits could be considered on a parcel-by-parcel basis. No formal action was taken; the presentation concluded with the committee saying it will continue to consider the zoning and permitting path forward.
Next steps: the developer indicated it will work with county staff, Dunn Electric and the town on technical studies and with legal counsel on permitting options; the committee did not vote and offered no immediate decision beyond continuing the zoning review process.
