Attendees at the Community Data Center Forum at Grand Farm Innovation Campus near Wheatland Tuesday night. Photo: Daron Selvig, KFGO News.
FARGO (KFGO) – Facing scrutiny over local government influence and an aggressive public relations push, Geronimo Power President and CEO Blake Nixon acknowledged Wednesday that company representatives engaged in regular discussions with Harmony Township officials while local commercial zoning rules were being developed.
Appearing on KFGO’s News and Views with Joel Heitkamp the morning after a company forum at the Grand Farm Innovation Campus, Nixon defended Geronimo’s outreach, pushed back against accusations that a $140 million incentive package was designed to buy off local residents, and addressed the possibility of legal action should township supervisors freeze the project.
Asked directly by Heitkamp whether Geronimo helped construct the township’s zoning standards or suggested what the updated rules should be, Nixon acknowledged the developer had regular contact with the board.
“Well, I know my people had many discussions with the township board over a decade about a lot of things. So I’m sure that that would be inferred,” Nixon said, adding that Geronimo has developed dozens of projects across the Midwest.
Public records obtained by KFGO News show that on July 21, the Harmony Township Board of Supervisors voted to approve significant rollbacks to its commercial utility ordinances. The revisions raised allowable exterior noise limits from 30 decibels to 45 decibels, removed a 1-mile buffer that previously protected agricultural buildings such as barns and machine shops, and dropped a mandate requiring data center applicants to submit a signed power purchase agreement prior to permit consideration.
Geronimo submitted its conditional use permit application for the 540-megawatt data center on Sept. 15.
The zoning revisions have drawn intense community pushback following revelations that former Harmony Township Board Chairman Tom Roden negotiated a private land option agreement to host the data center on his property before voting in favor of the July amendments. Roden subsequently resigned from the board.
Township public records show no written conflict-of-interest filings were made regarding the transaction. On Wednesday, Nixon maintained that Roden served with integrity.
“I have met Tom Roden. I think he’s a good man. He served that township for 30 years,” Nixon told Heitkamp. “My experience with Tom was that he was a very tough negotiator on behalf of the township for 10 years, and I think when the whole story is told, everybody will fully understand that he has acted honorably.”
Heitkamp also challenged Nixon over the $140 million benefits package presented to residents Tuesday night, asking whether the developer was attempting to buy community approval ahead of a crucial township vote next week.
“No,” Nixon replied with a laugh, saying Geronimo includes community funds in all of its developments. “The economic benefits are amazing. We do community giving and pay big taxes everywhere we build a project. That’s just the way we’ve always done it.”
The proposal includes an estimated $100 million in local tax revenue over the project’s life, a $20 million civic initiatives fund, $20 million in direct annual installments to eligible landowners living near the facility, and a guarantee setting nearby home values at 150 percent of their 2026 county tax assessments. Presentation materials displayed Tuesday disclosed that school tax benefits would be reduced to an estimated $800,000 net annually after state foundation aid formula deductions.
Addressing listener concerns regarding potential long-term growth beyond the proposed two data halls on Section 15, Nixon confirmed that data center developers prioritize sites with room for broader footprints.
“Second phases and the ability to expand is very attractive to businesses like us and the data center world,” Nixon said. He confirmed the company is developing a second phase of solar and battery storage in Harmony Township, pursuing a wind farm elsewhere in Cass County, and tracking regional natural gas pipeline expansions.
In response to neighborhood pushback over a citizen petition Geronimo circulated at Tuesday’s forum, Nixon denied that the company was soliciting outside Cass County signatures to override township leadership.
“Nobody can override Harmony Township. Harmony Township gets to make its own decision based on its leadership that is now in place,” Nixon said. He asserted that a proposed 24-month moratorium on data centers sends a message that the area is closed for business, adding, “I’ve never witnessed NIMBY activity here. I’ve always seen North Dakota as logical, good people that want to take care of their neighbors and want to move forward and grow.”
Pressed on whether Geronimo would pursue a lawsuit if the township board enacts the moratorium or rejects the permit, Nixon declined to rule out litigation.
“If we don’t get the permit from Harmony Township, we can’t build the project,” Nixon said. But he noted the financial stakes involved: “I’m responsible for 300 employees. That’s over a thousand people in the families that I’m responsible for, and we’ve made a heck of an investment trying to do the right thing and build projects here. I can’t agree right now that the right things are occurring.”
The Harmony Township Board of Supervisors is scheduled to consider the proposed 24-month development moratorium at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 20. The North Dakota Public Service Commission has scheduled a separate public hearing regarding Geronimo’s adjacent battery storage project for 10 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 23, in Casselton.
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