Independent public-record site · not affiliated with Quantica Infrastructure, NorthWestern Energy or Yellowstone County

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AI-generated satirical illustration of the Yellowstone County commissioners. An invented scene, not a photograph.
Satirical illustration, generated with AI. An invented scene, not a photograph or a public record.

7,235 megawatts requested. Five times NorthWestern’s average load. Thirty miles north of Billings. Documented here.

Quantica Infrastructure, a developer backed by the private-equity firm EnCap Investments, is building what it calls the Big Sky Digital Infrastructure Campus: a hyperscale data center on about 5,100 acres outside Broadview, in Yellowstone County. In May 2026 it asked NorthWestern Energy for up to 7,235 megawatts of grid capacity, more than five times the utility’s entire average load in 2024.[1][2]

This is an independent public-record site, and it is opposed to the project as proposed. Every factual claim is footnoted to a named public source. Where the record is silent, this site marks it as silent instead of filling it in.

Take action before November 6 The short version

A note on scope. This site covers one project: Quantica’s campus near Broadview, and the state and county decisions that shape it. It is not about data centers in general, and it is not affiliated with Quantica, NorthWestern Energy, Yellowstone County, or any of the organizations it links to. Nothing here alleges unlawful conduct by anyone. Methodology and corrections: Records. Compiled October 23, 2026.

The short version

At a glance

  • Who: Quantica Infrastructure, which names EnCap Investments L.P. as its sponsor and John Chesser as CEO, through its Montana platform, Big Sky Digital Infrastructure.[2]
  • Where: About 5,100 acres the company owns about 30 miles north of Billings and about 3.5 miles outside Broadview: nearly eight square miles of Yellowstone County.[7][8]
  • How much power: Interconnection applications for up to 7,235 MW. The company says that doesn’t necessarily mean it would use it all, and describes a 1,100 MW campus: 500 MW in year one and 1,100 MW by year two. For scale, NorthWestern’s average load in 2024 was nearly 1,400 MW, and all of Montana’s generating capacity was about 7,183 MW.[1][2][3]
  • What would generate it: State environmental emails reported in May 2026 describe 1,785 MW of gas-fired engines and turbines on site. DEQ staff estimated the plants would need a major federal-class air permit, with public review and likely an environmental impact statement. As of October 23, 2026 this site found no air permit application on DEQ’s listings.[4][9]
  • What water: A well into the deep Madison aquifer: about 150,000 gallons a day during construction and about 20,000 a day afterward, by the company’s and DEQ’s figures. DEQ is reviewing it as a categorical exclusion, its lightest form of environmental review, and is taking comment until November 6.[5][6]
  • Who gets a say: Less than you’d think. Yellowstone County’s commissioners say the 2025 Right to Compute Act ties their hands, and the county has sued to keep a citizen initiative on the project off the ballot.[10][11] The legal ground, laid out.
The counted and the uncounted

Five numbers

7,235Megawatts of grid interconnection Quantica applied for in May 2026: about all of Montana’s 2024 generating capacity.[2][3]
~5×The request against NorthWestern Energy’s entire 2024 average load of nearly 1,400 MW. This site’s arithmetic.[1]
1,785Megawatts of on-site gas engines and turbines described in DEQ correspondence: 585 MW of engines plus 1,200 MW of turbines.[4]
150kGallons a day from the Madison aquifer during construction, by DEQ’s figures; about 20,000 a day once built.[5]
0Air quality permit applications for the project this site found on DEQ’s listings as of October 23, 2026, though construction began in September.[9][8]
What these numbers are not

The 7,235 is a maximum request, not a commitment; the company says it may not use all of it, and its own figures for the campus have ranged from about 1,000 MW to 1,100 MW. The 1,785 MW of gas comes from agency emails reported by the Billings Gazette, not from a permit application. The 0 reflects what DEQ’s public listings showed on October 23, 2026. If an application has been filed and isn’t listed yet, this site will publish it.[2][4]

Go deeper

The whole record, one page at a time

Five pages, each self-contained and fully footnoted. If you read one thing, read the first.

  1. The Project The site, the power request, the gas plants, the well, who is behind it, and what the company itself claims. Read first
  2. Context The Right to Compute Act, the limits of county power, the ballot initiative and the lawsuit against it, and the fight at the PSC over who pays.7 min
  3. Timeline From NorthWestern’s 2025 letter of intent to the November 6 comment deadline, dated and sourced.5 min
  4. The Records Every primary document and agency page, what is still missing, the method, and the corrections log.Reference
  5. Take Action The DEQ comment, the county commission, the PSC, and the Legislature: who to contact and how.Before Nov 6
Citations

Sources for this page

  1. Justin Dubail, “Big Sky data center near Billings seeks major power supply from NorthWestern Energy,” NonStop Local / Montana Right Now, May 21, 2026. montanarightnow.com7,235 MW maximum request; 500 MW in year one and 1,100 MW by year two; NorthWestern’s 2024 average load of nearly 1,400 MW, per state utility data; first building hoped for in 2029.
  2. Quantica Infrastructure, “Quantica files interconnection applications to expand power generation for its Big Sky Digital Infrastructure Campus,” press release, May 20, 2026. quanticainfra.comCompany statement. Up to 7,235 MW of interconnection against a 1,100 MW campus; EnCap Investments L.P. named as sponsor; CEO John Chesser; the ratepayer quote from Charlie Baker.
  3. “Quantica submits applications for stated 7,235 megawatts,” Montana State News Bureau, via the MSU Exponent, May 2026. msuexponent.comCompares the request to Montana’s total net summer generating capacity of 7,183 MW in 2024.
  4. Alex Mitchell, “Emails: Massive gas power plants planned north of Billings for Broadview data center,” Billings Gazette, May 21, 2026, as reprinted by Northern Plains Resource Council. northernplains.orgDEQ emails of March 23 and April 3, 2026: a Major NSR/PSD air permit likely needed, with public review and a likely environmental impact statement; a gas line would be needed. 585 MW of gas engines plus 1,200 MW of gas turbines.
  5. Montana DEQ, “Quantica Big Sky Campus Public Water Well: Request for Public Comments on Categorical Exclusion Review under a Programmatic Environmental Assessment,” posted September 29, 2026, accessed October 23, 2026. deq.mt.govMadison aquifer, about 1,000 ft deeper than the Eagle Sandstone; NE¼ SW¼ Sec. 9, T3N, R23E, about 3.5 miles southeast of Broadview; ~150,000 gpd during construction and ~20,000 gpd after; comments due 11:59 p.m., November 6, 2026 (extended). Links the application, the draft checklist and the programmatic EA.
  6. Big Sky Digital Infrastructure, “Big Sky Digital Infrastructure outlines water use plans, estimates 20,000 gallons of water per day once completed,” press release, August 31, 2026. quanticainfra.comCompany statement. Closed-loop cooling; ~20,000 gpd in operation, up to 150,000 gpd at peak construction; 160 gpm for up to 16 hours a day; the company’s claim that the Madison is not hydraulically connected to the Eagle.
  7. Big Sky Digital Infrastructure, home page and FAQ, accessed October 23, 2026. bigskydigitalinfra.com · FAQCompany statements. 5,100 acres owned fee simple; Phase 1 ramping to 500 MW “beginning in 2028”; “evaluating natural gas”; job and investment estimates attributed to the University of Montana’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research.
  8. Phoebe Tollefson, “Broadview area data center sees first phase of construction with roads, well work,” Montana Free Press, September 18, 2026. montanafreepress.orgStaging in early September, then access roads and the well; a site of nearly eight square miles; a retired Montana Tech hydrogeologist on the Madison’s warm, salty water and the reverse-osmosis brine it would leave.
  9. Montana DEQ, air quality permit listings, accessed October 23, 2026. deq.mt.gov/airNo entry for Quantica, Big Sky Campus or Broadview was found on October 23, 2026.
  10. Montana Code Annotated § 2-10-204 (Right to Compute Act; Ch. 150, L. 2025, codified at MCA 2-10-201 through 2-10-207). mca.legmt.gov
  11. Phoebe Tollefson, “Yellowstone County sues over initiative aimed at Quantica data center,” Montana Free Press, October 7, 2026. montanafreepress.org
  12. Alex Mitchell, “Yellowstone County advances road use agreement for data center developer,” Billings Gazette, as carried by the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. bozemandailychronicle.comDiscussion-meeting approval of a road-use agreement for about five miles of county road to Quantica’s well. Public works said Quantica would pay the improvements and monitoring and post a $250,000 bond. The agreement was headed to a consent agenda. Mike Waters and Mark Morse are quoted.

Company statements are cited as company statements, not as findings. Corrections are welcome: corrections policy.