BUTTE - A major land purchase by REC Silicon at this industrial park south of Butte may have disrupted, at least temporarily, plans for a large data center that wanted to locate on this property.
“It’s exciting news, so REC now is going to pay upwards of about $1.2 million for the property, and they’re going to share in the coming months what the new development is going to be,” Butte Chief Executive J.P. Gallagher said.
WATCH: REC Silicon land purchase halts Sabey Data Center plans in Butte
For now, it seems the new development won’t be a Sabey Data Center, which had entered into a land purchase agreement with Butte-Silver Bow to acquire 600 acres around the REC property at the Montana Connections industrial park. The data center agreement was halted after REC used its right-to-first refusal agreement and told Butte on April 17th that it plans to purchase about 620 acres around its facility.
Many residents are pleased with the recent development, because they were concerned that a data center would be a burden on natural resources and create higher energy costs.
“I think it’s wonderful for the community and a great chance to take this community forward to more positive things in the future,” Butte resident Elton Ringsak said.
However, the recent land purchase does not mean the data center won’t move to the area.
“I don’t think it kills the Sabey deal. There are other potential properties out in the Montana Connections park that they may be interested in, so we’ll continue to look at that with them,” Gallagher said.
Still, some residents welcome any deal that delays the data center project.
“I think it’s a bump in the road for them, most definitely. Whether or not it halts their possibility of opening a data center here, I don’t know, but at least it takes time for us to pause to reflect,” Butte resident Don Petritz said.
