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Developer presents plan for 2‑MW modular data center near Dunn County ethanol plant
Summary
NODIAC told the Dunn County Planning, Resource and Development Committee it proposes a 0.5‑acre, 2‑MW modular data center sited near an ethanol plant and existing solar facility; the developer said it would not seek tax abatements, would pay interconnection upgrade costs, would use closed‑loop cooling and would propose a county text amendment for conditional‑use review.
Eric Shannon of NODIAC presented a proposal to build a small, containerized modular data center on roughly 0.5 acre south of an ethanol plant and an existing solar facility in Hay River Township in Dunn County. He said the facility would be 2 megawatts (MW) in capacity — far smaller than hyperscale projects — and that the containers are prefabricated so construction would likely take "4 to 6 months." "We are early stage in this development," Shannon said, "we have engaged with the utility and have a lease agreement with the landowner." (Eric Shannon)
Shannon told the committee NODIAC would "pay our own way" for interconnection upgrades and would not request special electric rates. He said Dunn Electric Cooperative indicated 2 MW would be available for interconnection at the proposed location and that any expansion would require utility study. "We are not seeking any type of tax abatement," Shannon said, adding a high‑level estimate that a scaled valuation could create a roughly $500,000 tax base for the site. He described operational plans that include a single full‑time on‑call employee and reliance on local union labor for construction.
On environmental and operational details Shannon described a closed‑loop liquid cooling system that would require an initial fill of "less than 5,000 gallons" and infrequent water changes (every 5–8 years), and said the developer would file necessary permits with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for any water handling. He projected onsite cooling noise near 70 decibels and said third‑party acoustic modeling and mitigation (vegetative buffers or berms) would be provided to limit sound at nearby residences. "We want those things to be bound with permit conditions," Shannon said about water, power and community benefits. (Eric Shannon)
Shannon proposed the county consider a narrow text amendment to define "small modular data centers" as a conditional use in the general agricultural district with objective standards (capacity caps, setbacks, noise limits and decommissioning securities). He emphasized any permit would be evaluated parcel‑by‑parcel and that township input would be part of the conditional‑use review. The presentation closed with project‑location clarification from the county surveyor and the developer's offer to work with county staff on draft permit conditions and mitigation measures.
Next steps: no formal action was taken; the developer asked the county to consider text‑amendment language that would allow a conditional‑use review if the policy change is adopted.
