Data center restrictions tracker · Montana

Data center moratoriums and restrictions in Montana (2026)

Data snapshot 2026-08-15 · part of Pricing the Fear of Data Centers

As of August 15, 2026, this tracker documents 2 local government actions on data centers in Montana, across 2 jurisdictions in 2 counties: 1 moratorium and 1 zoning exclusion. By status: 1 in force and 1 pending.

There is no statewide restriction, incentive rollback, or large-load tariff on record for Montana in this snapshot.

Data centers in Montana used about 0.6 TWh of electricity in 2024; EPRI, Powering Intelligence 2026 (state-level dashboard) projects 0.8 TWh in its 2030, EPRI medium scenario.

Local actions in Montana

Every documented local action in Montana in the August 15, 2026 snapshot. Documented actions, not a census.
JurisdictionCountyActionStatusDate
Missoula CountyMissoula CountyMoratoriumin forceJuly 9, 2026
Yellowstone CountyYellowstone CountyZoning exclusionpendingJune 18, 2026

What one campus pays a local government

The parent piece's calculator puts a single large campus at $2M to $90M a year in local revenue, depending on the tax regime and abatements. The reference campus (Project Blue scale: $3.6B of capital, 286 MW) pays about $157M to local governments over 10 years. Permanent jobs run around 50 per facility.

Tax regimeReference caseAnnual local revenue, lowAnnual local revenue, high
Aggressive abatementMorrow County OR (enterprise zone)$2M$3M
Partial abatementGeorgia audit representative campus / El Paso Meta$27.8M$56M
Unabated equipment taxVirginia-style rates (Loudoun is the ceiling)$50M$90M

Run your own numbers in the calculator on the parent piece. Jurisdictions in Montana that say no give up this revenue, not the jobs.

Sources

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