District Court Judge
Judge Joseph appears to side with county, ruling equitable estoppel does not apply to legal deadline matters, citing precedent from Yellowstone County case
Data centers in Butte, Montana
Butte has 2 data centers on the record: 1 proposed and 1 stalled or cancelled. No city rule about data centers is on the record for Butte yet. Silver Bow County's own decisions are on the Silver Bow County page.
How to read this page. Every count comes from the records on this page and links to where it is counted. Nothing is published until a person reads its source, and a figure no source gives reads Not disclosed; nothing is estimated. A rating changes only when a person sets it.
The 2 data centers in Butte
Newest activity firstEach row is one site with its stage, its latest dated entry and what its sources disclose. A figure no source gives reads Not disclosed.
Butte-Silver Bow Data Center (ballot initiative)
Butte, Silver Bow County
Latest, reported September 24, 2026: The proposed ballot initiative would require citizen approval of data center development in Butte-Silver Bow County montanafreepress.org local outlet
- Land
- Not disclosed
- Power
- Not disclosed
- Water
- Not disclosed
- Tenant
- Not disclosed
Sabey Butte Data Center
Butte, Silver Bow County · Sabey
Latest, reported May 29, 2026: Sabey backs out of proposal to build data center in Butte, Montana datacenterdynamics.com trade press
- Land
- Not disclosed
- Power
- Not disclosed
- Water
- Not disclosed
- Tenant
- Not disclosed
Where
Drag with one finger to move the map, pinch to zoom. Tap a pin for the data center, a county for its rules
2 data centers in Butte: 1 proposed, 1 stalled or cancelled. A dashed edge means the exact site is not in the public record; every pin here marks a town or the county.
What happened
-
· Butte-Silver Bow Data Center (ballot initiative)
Now reported: Election administrator approved the petition on May 28 and notified proponents the gathering period would end at 5:00 p.m. on August 14, 2026 kbzk.com local outlet
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· Sabey Butte Data Center
Cancelled: Sabey backs out of proposal to build data center in Butte, Montana datacenterdynamics.com trade press
-
· Sabey Butte Data Center
Now reported: Sabey plans a data center in Silver Bow, Montana cleanview.co local outlet
What was said
John Mayer, Cottonwood Environmental Law Center, representing initiative organizers, requested supplemental ballots be printed for all electors.
Evan Barrett of 406 People First stated the power of initiative is protected in Montana Constitution and deadline change impeded their rights
406 People First submitted 4,500+ petition signatures on July 31, 2026
Every Montana statement, by speaker
2 more statements on this page
Attorney John Meyer argued Montana Code 13-28-206 is unconstitutional because it does not facilitate the people's constitutional power of initiative
Disclosed figures
nothing disclosed by 2 records
Power, water, jobs and tax
| Figure | Disclosed total | Disclosed | Not disclosed | Basis | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power | Not disclosed | 0 | 2 | Not disclosed by any of the 2 records | |
| Water, stated per day | Not disclosed | 0 | 2 | Not disclosed by any of the 2 records | |
| Water, stated per year | Not disclosed | 0 | 2 | Not disclosed by any of the 2 records | |
| Permanent jobs | Not disclosed | 0 | 2 | Not disclosed by any of the 2 records | |
| Tax each year | Not disclosed | 0 | 2 | Not disclosed by any of the 2 records |
Summed only where a record disclosed the figure; a record with no figure adds nothing and is counted as not disclosed. Water is summed per day and per year separately, as the sources stated it, and never converted. A tax claim given as a range is summed at both ends.
By what the facilities are for
| Use | Records | Power | Water | Jobs | Tax each year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not disclosed | 2 | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed: power, water, jobs, tax each year |
A record that lists several uses counts once under each. Each cell is the sum over the records with that use, disclosed rows only.
What the facilities are for
No source on file states what any of the 2 tracked facilities in Butte are for.
How the facilities are cooled
No source on file states how any of the 2 tracked facilities in Butte are cooled.
Cite this page
Data Center Record, "Data centers in Butte, Silver Bow County, Montana", https://datacenterrecord.org/states/mt/silver-bow-county/butte, updated September 24, 2026.
Cite this page
Data Center Record, "Data center records in Butte, Silver Bow County, Montana", https://datacenterrecord.org/states/mt/silver-bow-county/butte. Data: Data Center Record, datacenterrecord.org, CC BY 4.0.
The structured rows are CC BY 4.0. Link to this page; that is what turns a reuse into a citation. Prose stays under copyright.
The rows here are part of the Montana export.
For researchers
- Place id
- us/mt/silver-bow-county/butte
- Level
- city
- Census GEOID
- Not disclosed
- Rating value
- Not disclosed
- Scale word
- Not disclosed