Possible Developers: Big Rock, Apricus Energy , Avista Utilities & Inland Power & Light, Lumen Technologies, Zayo Group, Ziply Fiber, Daines Capital.
Exact Location: The exact location on this complex within Spokane County has not been specified.
Locations included but are not limited to the
- Kaiser Aluminum Meadwork building located at 2111 E. Hawthorne Road
- The Industrial site at 2425 E. Magnesium Rd, Spokane WA.
- 11703 Medical Lake Road, Spokane County 99224 ~514 acres total, Parcel Numbers: 14111.9051, 14111.9023, 14114.9014, 14122.9022, 14122.9021, 14122.9011, 14123.9005, 14123.9032, 14122.9020
Power Request: 200 Megawatts by 2027, 800 MW by 2028 and full 1,000 MW by 2033
Power Load Comparison:
· Medium-Sized City: A medium-sized city with a population of around 200,000 to 300,000 people might consume about 200-400 MW of electricity. Therefore, a 1000 MW data center could consume as much power as 2.5 to 5 medium-sized cities.
· Nuclear Power Plant: A single nuclear power plant typically has an output of about 1,000 MW. Consequently, the data center's consumption would be equivalent to the entire output of one large nuclear power plant.
Estimated Infrastructure Cost Figure: $184M
· This excludes new power generation, customer-specific infrastructure.
· Apricus disclosed a $25M FEED & permitting budget for 2026,
· Tribe's questions about how capital is backstopped and risk Apricus carries left unanswered.
What the $184M infrastructure scope driving this estimate includes:
· New substations at the project site (Bluebird and Garden Springs, with Commercial Operation Dates targeted for Q3 and Q4 2027 respectively)
· New high-voltage transmission lines connecting to the regional grid
· Expansion of existing substations
· Potential new connections to Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) transmission lines
The following is driven by Avista's System Impact Study completed November 14, 2025:
- Transmission & substation upgrades (to support up to 650 MW) ~$184 million
- Costs of new power plants - Not included / TBD (Excluded from the $184M estimate)
- Additional regional transmission upgrades (beyond 650 MW) - Not included / TBD
- Customer-specific infrastructure (on-site) Not included / TBD/ Excluded estimate
Transmission & Substation Infrastructure needs:
- New Substations: Construction of one or more new substations to step down high-voltage electricity from transmission lines to a usable level for the data center.
- High-Voltage Transmission Lines: Installation of new high-voltage transmission lines to connect the data center to the regional power grid.
- Interconnections with Regional Grid: Establishing connections with existing regional grid infrastructure, possibly including the (BPA) network. This may involve upgrading existing lines or constructing new interconnections to ensure reliable power delivery.
- Expansion of Existing Substations: Upgrading and expanding capacity at existing substations to accommodate the increased power load. This might include adding transformers, switchgear, and other equipment to handle additional capacity.
- Potential New Power Generation Sources: Depending on the current capacity of the regional grid, new power generation resources might be necessary to meet the demand. This could involve renewable energy sources, natural gas plants, or other generation technologies.
- Land Acquisition and Permitting: Acquiring land for new substations and transmission lines, which involves environmental reviews and obtaining necessary permits.
- Who Pays for the Infrastructure: Big Rock / Apricus has explicitly committed to funding any infrastructure costs that fall outside Avista's standard development plan, including costs that would otherwise result in rate increases for existing Avista customers. This means a portion of the $184M — or costs beyond it — may be borne directly by the project developer rather than the utility.
- Road and Transportation Improvements: Increased traffic from construction and operational activities may necessitate road improvements, potentially funded by taxpayer dollars.
- Water and Sewer System Enhancements: Data centers require substantial water for cooling, which might lead to enhancements in water and sewer systems, potentially impacting local rates and taxes.
- Environmental Impact Studies: Comprehensive studies to assess the environmental impact of the data center may be funded by public resources.
- Mitigation Measures: Implementing measures to mitigate environmental impacts, such as pollution control and habitat restoration, may also require public funding.
Water Demand: The amount of water needed is unknown at this time. The proposed sources for cooling water we are aware of would be:
- City of Airway Heights Reuse Water from their wastewater treatment plant. Prior inquiries with the Department of Public works suggests there may be an available quota for use (if not taken up by other potential off takers such as Data Centers
- The City of Airway Heights (CAWH) has been approached by a private company interested in purchasing reclaimed water for a data center and green hydrogen facility. Meetings have occurred to understand the scope of the request, but no decisions have been made. The city uses reclaimed water for municipal purposes like park irrigation.
- Groundwater Apricus would look to treat groundwater and utilize. Dependent on cost and complexity a suitably sized treatment facility could allow additional treated groundwater back to the City for onward community use.
- Hydrogen Facility is mentioned multiple times in email communication with developers
Cooling Needs: Given water scarcity in the area, at this time it is envisaged that the predominant cooling method will be air coolers. However, there will still be a water demand to some specific volume.
Noise Ordinance: No modelled noise levels at the Kalispel Tribe campus boundary or any other sensitive receptor have been disclosed by Apricus.
- Commissioner reports it would be held to the same as the Spokane Airport.
- No independent noise study has been published for this project.
- The acoustic design is not yet complete — the project is still in the Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED) phase.
- The project will be subject to Washington State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) review, which requires formal noise impact assessment.
Natural Gas Logistics: Collaboration with Tenaska for gas supply, with a planned delivery point near Spokane. Tenaska supplies gas, the project needs a delivery point near Spokane, and the gas volume is large (about ~50,000 mmbtu/day) for ~Q3 2028 for ~3 years.
Gas Commodity Cost:
- Natural gas price indexed to a hub Higher Platt’s Gas Daily for Sumas, Stanfield or Malin + $0.55 US/Dth) This is the ongoing cost of the actual fuel used by the plant.
- Payments to get gas from the supply region to your delivery point; firm transportation reservations, system charges and tariff rates
- Reservation Fee: $0.06 US/Dth For ~3 years
- Sitting and building a meter/regulation area near the delivery point
- Piping/spur work needed to connect to the plant’s gas system.
- Emissions/combustion permitting related to gas-fired operation