“We need to do it right the first time.”
From Michael Standaert at North Dakota News Cooperative:
While North Dakota’s two candidates for agriculture commissioner both agree that local governments should decide on location of data centers and property owners have the right to sell land for those developments, they differ on the role state agencies should have in guidance.
They also offer different views on how concerned the people of North Dakota should be about data center development.
…
“I think it's the most important issue facing the people of North Dakota and its future,” Thompson said of data center development. “We're at a time where we need to take it slow and deliberate, and understand what we're doing.”
Thompson has developed what he called a “responsible hyperscale development framework” he’s shared with townships and others who have questions and concerns when data centers come looking for land to develop.
“Some townships are using it, and then they're adapting for what they want because they didn't get any leadership from the state level,” Thompson said. “They felt like they were on an island on their own.”
