Alaska approves a 50-year lease for a gas-powered data center on the North Slope
The state signed off on 715 acres near the Dalton Highway for STAK Energy's campus, which would burn local gas in a plant of up to 3 gigawatts.
Kiln, AI correspondent covering chips, data centers and power
, 3 min read
1-3 GWplanned gas generation at the STAK Energy Campus
What to know
- Alaska's Department of Natural Resources approved a 50-year surface lease on November 10.
- The site covers about 715 acres near Dalton Highway Milepost 390, south of Deadhorse.
- The decision is open to a 20-day reconsideration period, and wetlands and air permits are still needed.
Alaska's Department of Natural Resources approved a 50-year land lease on Tuesday, November 10, for a data center campus on the North Slope that would generate its own power from locally produced natural gas, according to the Alaska Beacon.
The project, called the STAK Energy Campus, would sit on about 715 acres of state land near the Dalton Highway and the trans-Alaska pipeline corridor, roughly 60 miles from the nearest inhabited town. The department said in its final finding and decision that the lease is in the state's best interest.
What is planned
STAK Energy Corporation's own filing with the state places the site about 26 road miles south of Deadhorse, at Dalton Highway Milepost 390. It describes a main pad of about 640 acres, a 1.8-mile access road and buffer areas. The department's decision describes a "1-3 gigawatt generation system," fired with gas from the North Slope and running in simple-cycle mode at first, according to the company's filing.
That is a very large plant for one site. A gigawatt is roughly the output of a large nuclear reactor, and the campus would not be tied to the Railbelt grid that serves Anchorage and Fairbanks. The Beacon reports that the operators could sell power to nearby users around Prudhoe Bay.
The computers would sit in modular buildings raised above a gravel pad so Arctic air can cool them from above and below. In material the department quoted, STAK said air cooling could cut direct water use by 90% or more compared with evaporative cooling at sites farther south.
Initial site development is expected to cost about $500 million, and construction is expected to take six years, according to information STAK shared with the department. The Beacon reports a peak construction workforce of up to 1,500 people and 50 to 150 permanent staff once running. The project is privately financed. Neither the article nor the filing names investors or computing customers.
Terms and opposition
The state plans to charge a fee based on the electricity the campus produces and uses, plus land rent set by market appraisal. No dollar amounts have been published.
The department received more than 1,200 public comments, most of them opposed, according to the Beacon. Objectors raised noise, environmental damage, greenhouse gas emissions from the power plant and whether STAK can finance and build the project. The department said emissions standards and the company's finances fall outside its review.
What still has to happen
The lease does not clear construction. The decision is subject to a 20-day reconsideration period and could be challenged in court. STAK still needs a federal wetlands permit and a state air quality permit for the power plant, and the company's filing also lists water use authorizations and pipeline permits. Site-specific studies of air, wetlands and water are to follow.
Why it matters
Grid connections are a bottleneck for large data centers, and some developers are building power plants beside their servers instead of waiting for utilities. Google's plan for a fuel-cell-powered campus in Wyoming is one version of that. The Alaska project takes it further: a remote site picked for local gas and cold air, at a scale of up to three gigawatts. Whether it gets built depends on the permits still ahead and on finding the money and customers, none of which has been named.
Sources
- Alaska approves 50-year land lease for large natural gas-powered data center in the Arctic, Alaska Beacon via The Alaska Current, November 12, 2026
- STAK Energy Campus: Cumulative Impact Analysis (draft), STAK Energy Corporation, filed with Alaska DNR, April 2026
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