Governor Gianforte Speaks on the Impact of AI Data Centers on Montana

There is a lot of chatter lately about AI data centers lately and in particular, where in Montana they could wind up.

This has a lot of Montanans rightfully concerned due to the known resource demands these data centers require. So, when I had the opportunity to catch up with Governor Gianforte last week, I asked him about that very concern.

Governor Gianforte Speaks on AI Data Centers in Montana

Last week, Governor Gianforte joined 560 KMON to cover a variety of topics including how the students of Montana will be contributing ornaments to the National Christmas Tree.

But while I had the governor on, I had to know how he felt about AI data centers popping up in Montana.

Chris: "How do you see these projects (AI data centers) balancing economic growth but also protecting our agricultural way of life and natural resources?"

Governor Gianforte: "Yeah, it's a couple things. One is, these represent significant capital investment. So, for the communities that end up having data centers, they're going to see an increase in tax revenue that helps us pay for our schools, our roads, our police officers. So, it's a benefit in that regard."

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Governor Gianforte then highlighted the jobs that could come as a result of the data centers before highlighting the risks many Montanans are concerned about.

Governor Gianforte: "It creates tremendous jobs in the creation. The caveat, the thing we have to be careful of is, we all know these data centers consume an awful lot of power and they also consume water. We have to make sure that the water rights of existing farmers are not negatively impacted. So these have to go in a place where we do have surplus water. And we have to make sure that their demand on power doesn't put an additional burden on farms and ranches and individual consumers."

And before I could ask about how Governor Gianforte planned on doing that, he beat me to the punch with a solution ready to go.

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Governor Gianforte: "That's why we convened an energy task force, it's meeting now, it's a bipartisan group. I'm going to get their report in September. And that's really going to lay out the roadmap for Montana's energy future. And it's going to include things like behind-the-meter power production. So, some of these data centers, we're talking to one group that's talking about building a natural gas pipeline directly to their data center, they're going to put their own turbines in. They're going to produce their own power. And in fact, they may even produce some excess, which would then be available to Montana consumers."

You can listen to the governor's response below.

Does Governor Gianforte's Response Calm Your Nerves About AI Data Centers?

Well, what do you think? I would love to hear your response and how you feel about the governor's feelings about AI data centers.

How do you think that report will look in September and will Montana consumers benefit from excess energy generated by the turbines?

Share your thoughts HERE.