Regional Industry & News

CASSELTON, N.D. — About 624.55 acres of land southeast of Casselton, North Dakota, may be sold to Geronimo Power, a Minnesota-based company that recently posted a video about the benefits of data centers in North Dakota.

CCDC ND LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, is listed as the buyer in the June 1 purchase agreement with a landowner in Durbin Township situated between Casselton and Mapleton, west of the Fargo-Moorhead metro area. The company is representing Geronimo Power.

The agreement's purpose is to give notice to third parties and the rights of the buyer. It does not include dollar amounts and is not the same thing as an actual land sale.

The land is presently owned by Ideal Ag Corporation. Rodger Johnson, the president of the North Dakota-based corporation, declined to comment when asked Monday, Aug. 31, whether he was selling the land. Johnson did not answer a Wednesday, Sept. 2, call regarding the purchase agreement and The Forum did not hear back from him in time for publication.

The Forum has been in contact with Emily Morissette, director of marketing and communications for Geronimo Power, who on Wednesday morning said Geronimo Power didn't have a permit application for a Cass County data center, nor has the company bought any land in Durbin Township.

"Geronimo Power has worked in the area for more than 10 years, partnering with local stakeholders and developing energy infrastructure projects," Morissette said. "We are encouraged by the recently proposed Bakken East Pipeline Project, which would connect western oil and gas production to the eastern side of the state and could help support future energy and industrial growth across North Dakota."

The Forum requested comment from Geronimo Power on the land agreement and was told the company would make a statement by the end of Thursday.

The purchase agreement says the property includes all of Section 20 of Durbin Township, aside from some pieces of the Bernstein subdivision. The Forum visited the property Thursday morning. It is primarily active farmland, though there are buildings in one section, including a barn and at least two houses.

Outside the property were large grain silos, an industrial area and additional farmland.

The land is approximately 624.55 acres, or just shy of a square mile. Previous Forum reporting stated the Applied Digital data center being built near Harwood north of Fargo would have buildings on 160 acres of land, though the company planned to buy a total of 925 acres.

Geronimo Power's website says it is a "national leader in the power industry," advancing innovation in solar, wind, storage and data center co-location, "while staying true to our roots" in rural southwest Minnesota. The website shows one "data park" currently in development in Jasper County, Missouri.

On July 31, the company published two videos titled "How Data Centers Can Strengthen Minnesota Communities" and "The Economic Benefits of Data Centers in North Dakota." The latter video was the first news post focusing on North Dakota that the company had shared on its website since 2021.

A blurb underneath the video says, "North Dakota has always been built on hard work, strong communities, and responsible investment. Learn how Geronimo Power is bringing those same values to data center development."

The video itself features images of farmlands, data centers and solar power. It says Geronimo Power builds energy products and data centers that invest in its communities. The video also includes aerial footage of Fargo-Moorhead and Page, North Dakota, in Cass County.

"We're committed to championing strong, thoughtful regulations that respect communities while welcoming new economic opportunities," the video said. "We believe in conserving water and helping protect North Dakota's natural resources."

It says the company listens to its neighbors, and those conversations help shape its projects to fit unique community needs.

The company claims it creates good-paying local jobs, pays its fair share toward infrastructure improvements, gives back to the community and brings its own energy generation to power its data centers, "helping make sure there's plenty of electricity for everyone."

In her Wednesday morning statement to The Forum, company spokesperson Morissette said Geronimo Power recently began construction on Harmony Solar, a 200-megawatt project located in Cass County.

"Harmony Solar is expected to support approximately 400 jobs during construction and generate an estimated $57 million in direct economic impact over its first 20 years of operation," she said.

Geronimo Power tried to get a data center project approved in Nobles County, Minnesota, earlier this year. Worthington, the county seat, is located just shy of 300 miles southeast of Fargo.

The company planned to purchase a 640-acre parcel of land, if its conditional use permit was approved.

The county board voted down a zoning change 3-2 after significant pushback from the community. Geronimo Power expressed plans to continue looking for another place in Minnesota to build its data center.

Out of 21 job openings listed on the Geronimo Power website, there is one based in North Dakota as of Thursday afternoon, Sept. 3. It is for a full-time project development lead, a role posted 20 days ago.

It doesn't specify particular projects, but says the lead would be responsible for managing multiple early- to mid-stage projects across various technologies, including solar, wind, battery energy storage, gas and data center development. The lead would also support a couple of late-stage projects, according to the listing.