Quantica Big Sky Digital Infrastructure campus near Broadview
Also called: Big Sky Campus, Big Sky Digital Infrastructure (BSDI)
A Texas company, Quantica, plans a huge AI data center campus on about 5,000 acres south of the small town of Broadview. It wants about 1,000 MW of power, more than all Montana homes use. Many residents oppose it, but county leaders say a 2025 state law limits what they can do.
Where things stand: Planned. No buyer or tenant named yet. Company hopes the first building opens in 2029.
🕒 Latest update (Sept 7, 2026): Opponents asked commissioners for a one-year pause (interim zoning). The county attorney said the 2025 'Right to Compute' law blocks it.
What we know
- 📍 WhereNear a power substation about 3 miles south of Broadview, about 30 miles north of Billings, Unincorporated Yellowstone County, Yellowstone County
- 🏢 CompanyQuantica Infrastructure (affiliates of Big Sky Digital Infrastructure)
- 🌳 Size5,100 acres
- ⚡ Power it needs1,000 megawatts (about as much as 800,000 homes)
- 🔌 Where the power comes fromNorthWestern Energy signed a letter of intent to supply up to 1,000 MW. Quantica also asked to connect up to 7,235 MW of its own new power: solar or wind, batteries and backup 'firming' power such as natural gas or geothermal.
❓ Still unanswered
Nobody has answered these in public yet. Can you help find out?
- Where will the cooling water come from, and how much will it use per day? 🙋 I'll find out
- Will the backup power be a natural gas plant, and has the state air quality office (DEQ) received a permit application? 🙋 I'll find out
- Who will be the tenant of the data center? 🙋 I'll find out
- How many permanent jobs will it create? 🙋 I'll find out
What happened so far
- July 1, 2025Quantica and NorthWestern Energy signed a letter of intent for up to 1,000 MW of power.
- July 30, 2025NorthWestern announced the power deal for a data center planned in Yellowstone County.
- May 22, 2026Quantica said it filed to connect up to 7,235 MW of new power at the site and plans a 1,100 MW campus on 5,100 acres.
- July 7, 2026County commissioners asked a judge whether a citizen ballot measure on data centers is legal.
- Aug 15, 2026A court stopped the Yellowstone County data center ballot measure.
- Sept 7, 2026Opponents asked commissioners for a one-year pause (interim zoning). The county attorney said the 2025 'Right to Compute' law blocks it.
Local votes and rules
⚖️ Court case
Commissioners voted 3-0 to file a lawsuit asking a district court whether a new citizen ballot measure is valid. The measure would require two-thirds of voters to approve any data center before it starts or restarts, force the county to pause the Broadview-area project with interim zoning, and release county emails with the data center industry. Organizers aim for the spring 2027 ballot.
📌 Other
Commissioners sent a letter asking local state lawmakers to change the 2025 Right to Compute Act in the 2027 session. They want it to say clearly that counties and cities can still control where data centers go and how they run, through zoning, permits and health and safety rules. They said the law limits what the county can do now.
📌 Other
Residents asked commissioners to use emergency (interim) zoning to pause the Broadview-area data center for a year. The county attorney said the 2025 Right to Compute Act makes this very hard and that the developer would likely sue. The commission was not expected to act on the request.
⚖️ Court case
Commissioners voted unanimously to ask a district court whether a citizen ballot measure was legal. The measure would have required two-thirds of registered voters to approve any new data center in the county. The county also said a new state law moved the signature deadline earlier. In August a judge sided with the county, and the measure did not go on the November ballot.
✋ Turned down
The county turned down a residents' petition to create a special zoning district near Broadview, where a large data center is planned. The county said the petition did not include enough draft rules and supporting papers.
An aerial photo of the area.
Where this comes from
- NorthWestern Energy inks power agreement with an AI data center planned for Yellowstone County · Montana Free Press · July 31, 2025
- Quantica files interconnection applications to expand power generation for its Big Sky Digital Infrastructure campus · EE Journal (company news release) · May 22, 2026
- Quantica seeking to boost energy capacity at Broadview data center site to 7,235 MW · KPAX · May 2026
- Counties take different approaches to data center regulation · Daily Montanan · July 10, 2026
- Yellowstone County data center ballot initiative stopped by courts · Daily Montanan · Aug 15, 2026
- Data center opponents seek interim zoning as Yellowstone County official cites roadblock from new state law · Montana Free Press · Sept 7, 2026
- Montanans push back on NorthWestern Energy's power plan · The Pulp · 2026
- Montana Data Centers and Water (presentation) · Montana Chamber of Commerce · April 16, 2026
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