Resource Innovation Institute and North Dakota State University explore co-location of data center and greenhouses

The North Dakota State University Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Department and Resource Innovation Institute have initiated the Legendary Harvest Project, a public-private research effort evaluating the feasibility of co-locating high-tech greenhouse food production systems with data center infrastructure.

The Applied Digital Corporation is contributing site access, funding and operational insights in support of the study.

The collaborative project addresses two persistent challenges in North Dakota: limited year-round food production due to short growing seasons and harsh winters, and the underutilization of waste heat generated by high-performance data centers.

The project envisions a "Farm Park" featuring high-tech greenhouse vegetable production alongside an in-process data center development. The research aims to offer a potential pathway to maintain the region's agricultural heritage by creatively leveraging the digital economy.

“The NDSU Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Department is researching how to advance food security in North Dakota from a number of angles,” said Xinhua Jia, professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering. “This co-location approach has the potential to make a significant impact. There’s a lot to figure out, and collaboration is key.”

Applied Digital's Polaris Forge 2 development near Harwood, North Dakota, will serve as the study location for evaluating the technical, economic and environmental feasibility of using data center waste heat to support large-scale greenhouse operations.

“We try to be creative and community-minded as we site our facilities,” said Nick Phillips, EVP of external affairs. “When NDSU approached us to contribute to their research collaboration with RII, we were pleased to contribute matching funds, evaluate potential land availability and support the study with the participation of our team.”

RII recently completed a Farm Park feasibility study for Virginia that examined the concept viability of co-locating data centers with high-tech greenhouses and complementary agribusinesses. That study, however, did not look at the economics of specific sites.

“Applied Digital deserves leadership recognition for opening the possibilities of what data center development could bring,” said Derek Smith, executive director of RII. “Just think how effectively we could advance community resilience in the U.S. if data center developers and operators routinely explored these types of public-private partnerships.”

This industry-research partnership appears to be among the first in the U.S. to rigorously evaluate how to implement data center-greenhouse co-location strategies that have become increasingly common in Europe.

A project report is expected in mid-2026.