Researchers at North Dakota State University (NDSU) and Resource Innovation Institute have formally launched a public-private research initiative to assess the possibility of colocating large-scale greenhouses with data centers in North Dakota.

Dubbed the Legendary Harvest Project, the initiative will examine the technical, economic, and environmental feasibility of using waste heat from high-performance data centers to support year-round greenhouse food production.

As part of the initiative, US data center operator Applied Digital will contribute site access, funding, and operational input to the study. The research will be undertaken at the company’s Polaris Forge 2 development near Harwood, North Dakota, where researchers will evaluate whether excess heat from data center operations can be captured and reused for controlled-environment agriculture.

According to the partners, the project will address two structural challenges in the North Dakota market. These include limited growing seasons due to long winters and the significant volumes of low-grade waste heat generated by data centers. Consequently, the study will explore a proposed “Farm Park” concept that would integrate high-tech greenhouse vegetable production alongside an active data center campus.

“The NDSU Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Department is researching how to advance food security in North Dakota from a number of angles,” said Xinhua Jia, professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering. “This co-location approach has the potential to make a significant impact. There’s a lot to figure out, and collaboration is key.”

Applied has committed to supporting the feasibility work of the study by providing matching funds, assessing potential land availability, and involving its operational team in the evaluation.

“We try to be creative and community-minded as we site our facilities,” said Nick Phillips, EVP of external affairs. “When NDSU approached us to contribute to their research collaboration with RII, we were pleased to contribute matching funds, evaluate potential land availability, and support the study with the participation of our team.”

The Farm Park feasibility study will be the second undertaken by RII, which previously completed a similar study in Virginia that examined the viability of pairing data centers with greenhouse operations, though that assessment did not analyze site-specific economics.

“Applied Digital deserves leadership recognition for opening the possibilities of what data center development could bring,” said Derek Smith, executive director of RII. “Just think how effectively we could advance community resilience in the U.S. if data center developers and operators routinely explored these types of public-private partnerships.”