Atlas Power CEO Kevin Washington speaks at an announcement of the data center (Facebook photo)
WILLISTON, N.D. (KFGO) – Mountrail-Williams Electric Co-op will not comply with orders from the Williams County Commission to disconnect power on Phase II of Atlas Power’s cryptocurrency-mining data center outside Williston until a court has reviewed and weighed in on the order.
County Administrator Helen Askim tells KFGO News that commission chair Cory Hanson was served the court papers Wednesday morning. She said a petition for declaratory judgment was filed by MWEC, asking a court to clarify the rights and responsibilities of the parties involved in the dispute. Askim said the county wouldn’t provide any additional comment in the matter until their attorneys had reviewed the filing.
Dubi Cummings, a spokeswoman for MWEC, provided the following statement:
“Mountrail-Williams Electric Cooperative’s responsibility to serve our members is not taken lightly. We are in the process of seeking the court’s determination on next steps to ensure the appropriate process is followed. As a power supplier we cannot take a position, rather, will focus on our commitment to delivering safe and reliable power to our members.”
Citizens who live in the Trenton Township, which is where the data center is located just outside Williston, posted on social media that power had not been shut off at the data center as of noon Wednesday.
The move comes just one day after the county commission voted unanimously to shut down power in the Phase II section of the data center due to uncompleted work at the site which commissioners said created safety issues and violated numerous zoning and use regulations. The construction of the data center is being led by FX Solutions, a Montana company that partnered with Atlas Power, which is based in Seattle, on the project.
Governor Doug Burgum announced the $1.9 billion data center, calling it a “major investment,” in January of 2022.
KFGO News has reached out to FX Solutions and Atlas Power for comment but haven’t received any response. This is a developing story.
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