BROADVIEW — A day after a packed public meeting featured sharp pushback from residents, the company behind a proposed AI data center in Broadview says it wants to clear the air.
Watch the company respond:
Leaders from Quantica Infrastructure sat in on that meeting in the small agricultural community, facing questions about water use, energy demand, and how the project could impact the area’s landscape and way of life.
The proposed data center would sit just outside Broadview on a 5,000-acre site, with the town visible from the property, and near a NorthWestern Energy substation and rail line.
The company says the project is designed to attract major technology companies such as Google, Meta, and Apple to bring AI servers to Montana.
Charlie Baker, chief administrative officer for Quantica Infrastructure and a third-generation Montanan, acknowledged the skepticism in the room.
“I think there’s a lot of questions out there,” Baker said.
Baker said the structure of the public meeting didn’t allow for direct responses from company officials, making it difficult to walk through every detail of the project, but he emphasized the company’s intent to keep communicating with the community.
“We are trying to communicate as much as possible to get our message out there,” he said.
Five of the six project leaders are Montanans, including Baker. He said Broadview stood out because of existing infrastructure and energy potential.
“The space that we own has a major substation and so there is a lot of energy flowing in and out of there, plus it has the opportunity for the renewables we are trying to build as well,” Baker said.
Quantica CEO John Chesser said many details are still being developed, including what the final campus could look like and who would ultimately use it.
“It’s early to say what the project would look like, but it's starting to come into focus,” Chesser said.
The company says the project could bring new jobs to the state by tapping into Montana’s skilled workforce.
Water use, however, remains one of the biggest concerns raised by residents. Chesser said data center technology has changed significantly in recent years.
“The designs from years ago that use modern cooler, those designs don’t really work with modern AI chip. Most data centers use closed loop, which don’t use that much water at all,” Chesser said.
“One of the concerns I heard last night was the project would use 10 million gallons of water a day, and that is just not the case. Technology is changing rapidly. They are going to closed loop systems,” he added.
Chesser also said renewables such as wind and solar could play a role in the project, potentially creating surplus power and helping reduce energy costs over time.
Still, questions remain about when construction could begin, what the final buildout would look like, and who the data center would ultimately serve.
Some residents argue Montana’s landscape should remain untouched. Baker said economic growth also needs to be part of the conversation.
“I mean, I certainly understand people wanting their wide open spaces, but we also need to have jobs and property tax base to continue to live here,” Baker said.
Related:
Community voices concerns over Broadview AI data center project
Proposed AI data center sparks debate in rural Montana
Proposed AI data centers raise environmental concerns in Montana
