Data centers in North Slope, Alaska: 2 projects mapped

Imagery: Esri, Maxar

North Slope Borough has no data centers operating, but two are proposed. Stak Energy, an Anchorage company, wants a 50-year lease on about 715 acres of state land near Dalton Highway Milepost 390, about 26 miles south of the oil-field camp town of Deadhorse, to burn North Slope gas in turbines producing 1 to 3 gigawatts and sell the power to computing companies. The Alaska Department of Natural Resources issued a preliminary approval in May; comments closed July 17, and no final decision has been published.

More than 500 people wrote to the state about the lease, and nearly all opposed it. The project would use about 7 million cubic yards of gravel, nearly twice the amount ConocoPhillips is allowed for its nearby Willow oil project, to raise the site above the permafrost. At full output the turbines would burn up to 500 million cubic feet of gas a day on site, more than twice what all of urban Alaska burns for power and heat combined. Jennifer Hyde of Native Movement told CBC News her top concern was "heat leading to irreversible landscape change," along with noise and light disturbing caribou.

Antony Scott, a former state petroleum analyst, said Stak's application shows no firm gas supply deal: the pipeline route alone could run anywhere from 25 to 90 miles. "That means they don't have a gas supply," he said. Stak has not said who would finance the plan, which chief strategy officer John Boyle put at more than $10 billion. A smaller, modular gas-powered data center has also been proposed by Far North Digital at Prudhoe Bay; a University of Alaska Fairbanks blog says it still depends on undersea fiber links to Tokyo and Ireland that are not yet built.

Every project above is drawn from public records, filings and local reporting. Each row links to what it is based on. Statuses change, so check the source date before you rely on one. Found something wrong? Write to [email protected] and it gets fixed.