Data centers in the Agricultural District require a conditional use permit under Harmony Township Ordinance Section 5.1.3.19.

A proposed two-year zoning moratorium would pause industrial-scale development, including data centers, battery storage, solar, wind, transmission lines, and gas-fired generation, while the Township updates its ordinances. The moratorium was under consideration and subject to a public hearing.

Data center buildings must be at least one mile, or 5,280 feet, from an inhabited residence or community building.

Data center buildings must be set back at least 500 feet from every property line and Township right-of-way.

Data centers must comply with a maximum building height of 35 feet in the Agricultural District.

Exterior noise from a data center and its appurtenances may not exceed 45 dBA within 100 feet of an inhabited residence or community building.

A CUP application must include a qualified acoustical engineer's noise study, and the operator must conduct 24-hour real-time exterior-noise monitoring through an independent third party at the applicant's expense and submit annual compliance reports to the Township.

Data center equipment must satisfy applicable state and federal fire-code and sound requirements, including equipment used for cooling, ventilation, power generation, and facility operation.

Data center building façades must include specified architectural features, including a differentiated main entrance, façade changes at least every 150 horizontal feet, and fenestration comprising at least 40 percent of each façade.

The applicant must submit detailed architectural elevations, sight-line depictions, and related design materials to demonstrate that visual impacts are minimized.

Exterior lighting must use full-cutoff or shielded fixtures, direct light downward, prevent glare and light spill onto neighboring properties and roads, and comply with Township illumination limits. A final photometric plan is required before the building permit is issued.

The applicant must obtain all applicable state, federal, county, and Township permits and provide required compliance documentation before the construction or operation requiring the permit.

Construction must begin within four years after issuance of the CUP; otherwise, the CUP expires unless the Township grants an extension.

The applicant must enter into a Road Use Agreement covering construction and decommissioning road maintenance, repairs, access, haul routes, restoration, and a cash escrow deposit sufficient to cover anticipated road costs. The Township may require additional escrow funding, and related work must cease if the applicant does not replenish insufficient funds within 14 days after notice.

The project must provide off-street parking in compliance with Township requirements and submit a parking-demand study and supporting calculations with the building permit application.

The project must provide approved plans for water supply, wastewater treatment, stormwater management, utilities, emergency access, and related site improvements before construction. The proposed domestic and fire-water supply is limited to 50,000 gallons per day from the Cass Rural Water District, subject to district approval and required off-site improvements.

The project must use a recirculating closed-loop cooling system and may not discharge cooling water or other data-center wastewater into a Township right-of-way.

The applicant must prepare and maintain an Emergency Response Plan in coordination with fire, law-enforcement, emergency-medical, and other applicable agencies, including fire access, emergency routes, responder training, and periodic updates.

Before construction, the applicant must provide financial assurance for decommissioning if required by the Township. The applicant states it will provide a surety bond based on the updated decommissioning estimate, with the preliminary industrial-reuse estimate stated as $3,763,000.

If the facility ceases producing power for 12 consecutive months, decommissioning must occur unless the Township grants an extension. Decommissioning may require removal of structures, foundations, underground utilities, and other improvements to a depth of 48 inches, followed by grading, soil restoration, and revegetation.

The CUP application requires payment of a $100 application fee, and the applicant must also pay applicable building-permit fees and any excess Township review costs.

The project must coordinate with road authorities and may be required to pave routes, add turn lanes, widen or strengthen roads, and complete other traffic improvements at the applicant's expense.

Data centers are allowed as a conditional use in Harmony Township’s Agricultural District, allowing the Harmony Energy Park to be developed there if it receives a conditional use permit.

The conditional use permit may be supported by a preliminary site plan, with the final number, size, orientation, and placement of buildings and equipment refined during final engineering and submitted with the building permit, provided applicable setbacks and requirements are met.

The project may use a parking-demand study during final design to establish the number of spaces needed based on actual staffing, visitors, contractors, and operations, rather than constructing parking based solely on building area.

The project may obtain up to 540 MW of initial electrical service, with potential future expansion subject to end-user demand and utility requirements.

Electrical service may be provided through Otter Tail Power’s proposed high-power-compute tariff, using a bring-your-own-generation framework that allows the data center to pair its load with dedicated renewable generation, battery storage, or natural-gas resources.

The project may use a utility-owned substation and associated electric service line that will be permitted, constructed, and owned by Otter Tail Power, reducing the applicant’s need to develop and own all electrical-service infrastructure.

The data center may operate continuously, 24 hours per day and seven days per week, consistent with data-center operating requirements.

The project may use closed-loop dry or air-cooled systems, substantially reducing operational water consumption and wastewater generation compared with wet cooling.

The conditional use permit remains available for up to four years before construction must begin; otherwise, it expires unless Harmony Township grants an extension.

The project’s proposed industrial-reuse decommissioning approach would allow data-center building shells, foundations, roads, stormwater facilities, and utility infrastructure to remain or be repurposed for future industrial, warehouse, distribution, or manufacturing uses, subject to applicable approvals.

A proposed 24-month moratorium would halt new data-center permits and construction in Harmony Township.

Data centers require a conditional use permit from Harmony Township before development can proceed.

After a conditional use permit is issued, construction must begin within four years unless the township grants an extension.

Data centers are limited to 45 dBA within 100 feet of an inhabited residence or community building.

Electricity-serving costs for the data center must be paid by the data center under the utility’s large-load tariff rather than by other customers.

Data centers may use a conditional-use-permit process, with construction required to begin within four years after the permit is issued unless the township grants an extension. The project timeline provides a defined permitting window.

The township’s data-center rules provide defined siting standards rather than an outright prohibition: buildings may be located at least one mile from occupied residences or community buildings and at least 500 feet from nonparticipating property lines and township rights-of-way. Current plans must comply with these standards.

Data centers may operate if they meet a specified noise limit of 45 dBA within 100 feet of an inhabited residence or community building. The township ordinance supplies a clear operating standard.

The project is planned to receive up to 540 MW of initial electrical service, with possible future expansion subject to end-user demand and utility requirements. The proposed electrical service supports construction and expansion.

The site benefits from nearby energy infrastructure, including the Bison Substation and 345 kV transmission lines. Existing major energy infrastructure supports development at the proposed location.

The data center’s cooling design uses a closed-loop system that recirculates fluid and does not require continuous water use during normal operations. The closed-loop system reduces ongoing water-supply requirements.

The project’s expected everyday water demand of about 15,000 gallons per day, with peak demand near 20,000 gallons, is below the approximately 50,000 gallons per day identified as available by a water-supply study. The identified available supply supports the stated operating demand.

The proposed large-load tariff is intended to assign the costs of serving data centers entirely to the data centers rather than other utility customers. The tariff’s cost-allocation design provides a defined framework for serving the project.

Harmony Township canceled the scheduled votes on six proposed 24-month energy moratoria covering data centers and related infrastructure. The canceled moratoria were not adopted, leaving the project without those proposed restrictions.