Geronimo Power pushes back ahead of vote on Harmony Township development moratorium

HARMONY TOWNSHIP, N.D. (Valley News Live) — Geronimo Power’s president is pushing back ahead of a vote scheduled for Thursday on a proposed two-year development moratorium in Harmony Township.

Blake Nixon, the company’s president, said the pause could delay energy investments and jeopardize the company’s proposed data center in the township. Nixon said company representatives were denied time to speak at a meeting Tuesday night, while utilities were allowed to address the township. He said the company wants the opportunity to answer residents’ concerns.

Nixon said Geronimo Power already has a permitted solar and storage project in the township, with the data center currently in conditional use review. He projected more than $140 million in payments to the area, mostly in school tax revenue, along with hundreds of jobs, though those figures have not been independently verified.

“It was important for people to hear the other projects that are coming to the area,” Nixon said. “This is not just a conversation about Geronimo or our data center. It’s a conversation about a broad set of development that’s happening in this area. That’s strategically important to all of North Dakota.”

Nixon said a moratorium could chill development in the area and potentially add $5 million to $7 million per mile in costs if projects are forced to relocate.