Plans for a large data center development have been announced in Montana.

As reportedly by 3KRTV and The Electric, the Great Falls Development Alliance (GFDA) this week announced that a data center was coming to the Cascade County city of Great Falls.

Atlanta-based TAC Data Centers is proposing a 569-acre development adjacent to the AgriTech Park, north of Malmstrom Air Force Base and near the Great Falls Rainbow Power Substation.

The company reportedly aims to invest $1-1.5 billion in the 2 million sq ft (185,805 sqm) development, known as Project Cardinal.

Construction is set to begin next year, with the initial 135,000-200,000 sq ft (12,540-18,580 sqm) buildings coming online in late 2027/early 2028. Full campus build-out would be expected by 2030.

TAC is part of Ardent, a privately owned Atlanta-based real estate developer and investor. TAC Data Centers is The Ardent Companies’ wholly owned data center platform, not to be confused with Northern Data’s Ardent Data Centers unit.

According to a company presentation, TAC is focused on developing hyperscale data center campuses across the US, with 12 projects in the entitlement process across North Carolina, South Carolina, Indiana, Virginia, North Dakota, Montana, and Washington State.

Site plans suggest TAC is aiming to develop up to 20 single-story buildings totaling 500-600MW, as well as two on-site substations (one utility-owned, one company-owned). The company noted Project Cardinal is in the queue with Northwestern Energy for a transmission study, but “progress has been slow and timelines are still unclear.”

GFDA said it has been working with Ardent for the past five months to develop the project. The site is currently owned by the Roehm family, with TAC having the option on the land. It's unclear if an end-user has been secured for the site.

Brett Doney, CEO of the GFDA, told 3KRTV: "The more power that we can produce in Montana and use in Montana could mean more energy development in the region, which provides tax base for our rural counties as well as more jobs and income for farmers and ranchers."

TAC’s website suggests the company has a pipeline of more than 3GW across six states, and plans to expand to 6GW in the next few years. Though details are sparse, the company is targeting developments in North Carolina and Virginia.

In North Carolina, a 275-acre greenfield site in Charlotte could host 2.5 million sq ft (232,255 sqm) of space and 400MW across two phases of construction. Further details weren’t shared.

The company said it is involved in a joint venture to develop a 125-acre, 500MW campus in Northern Virginia. Again, further details weren’t shared.

Montana does not have a major data center market. Ziply and Hyperscale Data’s Sentinum unit operate facilities in the Treasure State. Atlas Power also operates a site in Butte. TeraWulf/Beowulf previously planned to operate a crypto site in Hardin, but this never came to fruition. Crusoe had deployed cryptomining modules powered by flared gas in the state, but has since divested them to NYDIG.