Applied Digital North Dakota Answers the Hard Questions

Q: How much tax revenue could be generated? A: This project is already generating significant increases in sales tax collections for the City of Harwood for purchases that we make, but it's still early in the project. The Polaris Forge 2 project in Harwood, ND will certainly be the largest property taxpayer in the city, and likely in the county. In Ellendale, North Dakota, our total property taxes for 2026 are roughly $4,300,000, and we anticipate that once construction is completed, taxes there will be near $12,000,000 per year, making that project one of the single largest property taxpayers in the state. Harwood is a smaller project than Ellendale, but it's still expected to contribute several million dollars per year in total property taxes. Combined with our other projects in state, we anticipate that Applied Digital is likely to be the largest single property taxpayer in North Dakota in the coming years.

Q: What does the project mean for Cass County Electric, Minnkota, and the regional grid? A: Applied Digital recently committed to an over $112,000,000 infrastructure upgrade to the region. This infrastructure upgrade will support our facilities and also add much needed growth in grid assets nearby. Beyond this, Applied Digital has a large load, which is currently approved at a peak of 280 MW, more than double the existing load of Cass County Electric, which is now a peak of 270MW. This increase in total load is expected to put downward pressure on prices for other consumers in the area due to our coverage of fixed costs related to the grid, which is charged based on how much power each consumer uses. In Ellendale, ND, this has resulted in millions of dollars of savings to other ratepayers around the state.

Q: What does the community need to know about changes to the local infrastructure? A: Applied Digital is funding grid improvements that benefit the whole region, which is a huge benefit to all electrical customers. Beyond this, we anticipate attracting other businesses to the area and believe our presence will help lead to other broader improvements as well.

Q: What are the risks for ratepayers and nearby communities? A: From a ratepayer perspective, for both water and electricity, the risks are low. The utilities, regulators, and Applied Digital are fundamentally opposed to shifting costs that result from our projects onto others, and in fact we've seen our projects save ratepayers money. From a wider viewpoint, there is more impact from our projects during construction due to traffic, but we work closely with the local authorities to help mitigate these risks.