A data center could be coming to Butte, Montana.

According to several reports, Sabey Data Centers, a US-based data center developer, is the company behind the acquisition of a 600-acre parcel of land in the city.

The acquisition was made for an estimated $1.2 million and is located in the county’s Montana Connections business park, at the intersection of German Gulch Road and Rick Jones Way.

The sale is yet to close, with the Butte-Silver Bow Council agreeing to extend the deadline to close on the facility from October 15 to February 11, 2026.

To power the installation, Sabey has signed a non-binding Letter of Intent with Montana utility NorthWestern Energy late last year for 50MW of power starting in 2027, with the option to expand to 250MW or more by 2029.

NorthWestern’s regulated business will serve the data center. The company has a diversified energy portfolio, including hydroelectric power, wind, coal, gas, and solar. In Montana, 35 percent of its capacity is derived from hydroelectric power.

While Sabey has formally announced its intention to build one data center in the city, according to reports from The Missoulian, there are signs that the company is in fact planning a further facility.

According to a conference call on October 14, Rob Corbin, senior vice president for energy development at Sabey, said: “We’re looking to move to Montana for a couple of locations there.”

In addition, documents pertaining to Sabey’s plans in the state have referred to “data centers” on multiple occasions.

NorthWestern Energy has also indicated the possibility of two data center projects. In a Motion for a Protective Order filed with the Montana Public Service Commission, the utility included two separate non-disclosure agreements it has signed with Sabey.

The utility did not respond to a specific request from the Missoulian on the topic.

“It is not appropriate for NorthWestern Energy to comment on this topic,” a spokesperson for NorthWestern Energy responded. “The narrow scope of requests for protective orders to the Montana Public Service Commission includes proprietary and confidential information. While a protective order means the information is not publicly available, the Commission staff and others can view the protected information after entering nondisclosure agreements.”

However, despite this, indications from NorthWestern Energy point to a second facility in the works. At a Missoula economic conference in February, Mike Cashell, an executive at the utility, said: “The second opportunity is for an unnamed facility.

“And Brian Bird, our CEO, talked about this in Helena, and he said, ‘If it’s an unnamed facility, you can probably guess that it has some kind of contract with the government.’ We don’t know for sure, but they have not allowed us to utilize their name yet.”

A joint venture between Sabey Corporation and National Real Estate Advisors, Sabey Data Centers operates data centers across the US, with sites in operation or development in Quincy, Seattle, and East Wenatchee, Washington; New York City; Austin, Texas; Umatilla, Oregon; and Ashburn, Virginia.