Proposed Cassia County Technology Campus

The data centers will use closed-loop cooling rather than the evaporative cooling towers used by older data centers. A liquid picks up heat from the computer servers and circulates through sealed pipes (much like the coolant in a car radiator), then carries it outside and releases it to the air through large, air-cooled heat exchangers (dry coolers and air-cooled chillers). The same water is pumped around the loop over and over; nothing is sprayed or evaporated.

Each 100-megawatt data center building needs a one-time initial fill of about 1 to 2 acre-feet of water. After that, the loop only needs small top-ups after maintenance. The on-site power plant also uses no water to generate electricity: the engines are cooled by their own sealed radiator loops.

Day-to-day water use on the campus comes from kitchens, restrooms, landscaping, and keeping the fire-protection water tanks full. In total, we estimate about 50 acre-feet per year for the entire campus based on the current plan. The restrooms and kitchens will use more water than the computer cooling systems.

No. There is no flare and no open flame. The natural gas engines burn fuel inside sealed engine cylinders, the same way a truck engine does, and they are housed inside enclosed, sound-insulated buildings.

You will see exhaust stacks above the engine buildings. Their height is set by the air-quality modeling that the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (IDEQ) requires. On cold days, the exhaust can show a light white water vapor plume. That plume is water; the same thing you see from a vehicle's tailpipe in winter, not smoke.

For fire safety, the buildings will have automatic fire detection and suppression systems designed to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) codes, natural gas leak detectors with automatic shutoff valves, and dedicated on-site fire-water storage. These plans will be reviewed and approved by the local fire district before construction.

Large data centers that use evaporative cooling can use hundreds of thousands to millions of gallons of water per day. Our design avoids that entirely. The whole campus is expected to use up to 50 acre-feet per year, mostly for kitchens, restrooms and fire-protection system testing and storage.

For comparison, farmland irrigated by a single center pivot in southern Idaho commonly uses several hundred acre-feet in one growing season. Where the developed portion of the property is currently irrigated, converting it to the campus is expected to reduce total groundwater pumping on the campus.

All campus wastewater will be treated at our own on-site treatment plant and reused through land application under an IDEQ recycled-water permit, so the treated water is applied back to the land to grow crops during the summer with soil monitoring per IDEQ requirements. Any well or water rights the campus uses must be approved by the Idaho Department of Water Resources (IDWR) through its public process.

Before IDEQ issues an air permit, we must prepare a computer dispersion model. The modeling must meet all state and federal requirements and demonstrate that air pollutant levels at ground level will remain below the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) at the property boundary and beyond throughout construction and operation. The 'primary' NAAQS are set to protect human health, including children, the elderly, and people with asthma. The 'secondary' NAAQS protect public welfare, including livestock, crops, and vegetation.

After startup, the permit will require ongoing emissions testing, monitoring and reporting to IDEQ, and those results are public records. Natural gas engines do emit carbon dioxide (CO2). Our emissions will be reported to the EPA.

Yes. Before construction can begin, the power plant must obtain an air quality Permit to Construct from IDEQ. That requires detailed air dispersion modeling and emissions calculations. At the expected size, the plant is also expected to need a Tier I (federal Title V) operating permit, which includes public notice and a public comment period.

IDEQ also regulates the campus wastewater treatment and land-application system (recycled-water permit), the campus drinking water system, and the construction of stormwater controls.

The campus will be governed by federal, state and local rules, including:

• Federal: Clean Air Act requirements, including the National Ambient Air Quality Standards, EPA performance and emission standards for stationary engines, and EPA greenhouse gas reporting. The natural gas pipeline connection is subject to U.S. Department of Transportation pipeline safety rules.
• State: IDEQ air quality rules (IDAPA 58.01.01), wastewater and recycled water rules (IDAPA 58.01.16 and 58.01.17), drinking water rules (IDAPA 58.01.08), and construction stormwater permitting. Wells and water rights fall under the Idaho Department of Water Resources (IDWR), and highway access under the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD).
• Local: Cassia County zoning and land-use approvals, the conditions in the county's land-use approval and other agreements (setbacks, noise, lighting, traffic), building codes, and the adopted fire code as enforced by the local fire district.

We can't speak about another company's design. We can tell you what we are committing to here:

• Enclosed equipment: The engines will sit inside sound-insulated buildings with high-performance (hospital-grade) exhaust silencers. Cooling equipment will be selected and placed to limit noise, including the low-frequency hum people notice most.
• Distance and screening: On a 1,077-acre property, buildings and equipment will be set well back from roads and neighboring homes and may be screened with earthen berms and landscaping. The final layout of the buildings and landscaping requirements will be part of the final plans submitted for approval.
• No cooling towers: We are not using evaporative cooling towers, so there are no large water draws and no cooling-tower vapor clouds.

One honest difference: the Kuna data center buys power from the grid, while our campus will have its own power plant. That is why we are putting so much attention on engine enclosures, silencers, and setbacks.

The property is 1,077 acres. We expect about 300 to 400 acres to be graded and built on for the data center buildings, power plant, water and wastewater facilities, substations, roads and parking. We plan to leave the rest of the property as active agricultural production, and a noise and visual buffer.

What we are applying for now is an initial campus of about 200 megawatts of computing capacity, roughly two data center buildings, supported by about 200 to 250 megawatts of on-site generation. That is the project the county will review and approve.

We picked a large property partly so there is room to grow in the long term. But any expansion beyond what the county approves would need additional approvals, including public notice and hearings, as well as additional natural gas supply. We will be upfront with the community about any future plans.

A large property lets us keep wide buffers between our equipment and our neighbors, so that noise, lighting, security, and traffic are handled inside our own boundaries instead of next to adjacent farms and homes. It also gives room for the on-site power, water, and wastewater facilities that a campus like this needs to be self-sufficient, and room to grow over the long term, subject to future county approvals.

What can be built is controlled by the county's land-use approval and other agreements with Cassia County. Those documents set limits on building size and height, power plant capacity, setbacks, noise, lighting, and traffic. Building beyond those limits requires a formal amendment, with published legal notices, Planning & Zoning Commission review, and public hearings before the County Commissioners. IDEQ air permits separately cap how much the power plant can emit, and increasing the power plant would require a new air permit with its own public process.

There will be no high-voltage transmission lines connecting the campus to the regional grid and no evaporative cooling towers. The campus will include:

• Low-profile data center buildings and associated substations
• Enclosed power plant buildings with exhaust stacks
• An on-site electrical substation and switchgear that distribute power from our plant to the data centers
• Water storage tanks (including fire-protection water) and an on-site wastewater treatment plant
• A natural gas metering station connected to the Williams Northwest Pipeline
• Administration, security and maintenance buildings
• It is common practice for there to be several soft structure buildings during construction. These are typically parts of storage and prefab buildings as well as craft lunch facilities. These will be on site during the construction period and are removed after completion.

The campus is planned for about 200 megawatts of data center capacity, supported by roughly 200 to 250 megawatts of on-site natural gas generation (plus spare engines for reliability). All of that power will be generated on site, 'behind the meter,' and the campus will not be connected to the local electric grid.

The power plant is made up of many separate engine-generators, with more engines installed than the campus needs at any one time. If one engine trips offline or is down for maintenance, the others pick up the load. Inside the data center buildings, battery or flywheel systems (UPS) bridge any momentary interruption. Emergency backup generators provide a further layer of protection in the rare event of a loss of gas supply or a plant-wide problem (see Question 15).

Our primary power, 24 hours a day, will come from natural gas. The data center buildings are expected to include emergency standby generators, which today are typically diesel-fueled.

Emergency generators do not run as part of normal operations. EPA rules limit their non-emergency use (testing and maintenance) to no more than 100 hours per year. We expect routine testing to take about 30 to 60 minutes per unit per month, during daytime hours only. Fuel will be stored in compliance with applicable regulations, including spill containment and/or double-walled tanks, where applicable.

We have a firm natural gas supply agreement for 55,000 MMBtu per day, delivered on the Williams Northwest Pipeline. This is existing firm pipeline capacity that became available under commercial contracts, not new demand added on top of what the pipeline already serves, and it is enough to fuel the campus.

Our gas is delivered from the interstate pipeline straight to the campus through our own dedicated connection and meter station. We are not served through the local gas utility distribution system, so we do not take capacity away from homes, farms, or businesses in the area. We understand that additional regional pipeline capacity is expected to come online over the next several years. Any future expansion of the campus would require additional gas supply.

An on-site natural gas power plant that uses many modern, high-efficiency reciprocating engine-generators (large industrial engines similar in concept to very large truck engines) housed inside sound-insulated buildings. Engines in the class we are evaluating each produce roughly 3 to 20 megawatts. This type of plant is more fuel-efficient than simple-cycle gas turbines, uses no water to generate power, and can follow the data centers' changing power demand quickly.

Regional utilities are facing multi-year waits for new transmission lines and power plants. By generating our own power, the campus does not use electric capacity that local homes, farms and businesses depend on, and it does not trigger costly grid upgrades that other customers might otherwise help pay for. We still value working with local utilities, and we will coordinate with Raft River Rural Electric Co-op and Idaho Power, as it may be required on any shared issues such as existing power lines across the site or temporary construction power.

The power plant is sized to serve only the campus. Selling power into the grid would require a grid interconnection and high-voltage lines leaving the site. Keeping the plant fully separate from the grid also keeps the project simpler for the community: no new transmission lines and no effect on utility rates.

Because the campus produces its own electricity and is not connected to the grid, the local electric utilities will not need to build new power plants, substations or transmission lines for us. That means none of those costs are added to what local customers pay. Any temporary construction power or other service we buy from a local utility will be paid for by us under that utility's standard rules.

Our natural gas is bought under our own contract and delivered straight from the interstate pipeline, so the local gas utility does not build or pay for anything on our behalf. We can't control regional energy markets, but our project is designed so that its own costs are paid by us, not by local ratepayers.

TerraVolt is the campus developer. We build and operate the land, power, water, wastewater, and fiber infrastructure. We do not yet have a data center company committed. Our goal is to attract a large, established technology or AI company that will be a responsible long-term neighbor and invest in Cassia County, and we want the community's input as part of that process.

TerraVolt plans to own and operate the campus infrastructure long term: the power plant, water and wastewater systems, fiber and shared roads. We will act as the campus 'utility' for the data center company under a long-term services agreement. The data center company would build and own its data center buildings on the campus. Whether the building sites are leased or sold to that company will be decided in negotiations. Either way, all county conditions of approval stay with the land and bind whoever owns or operates it.

The commitments that matter, including noise limits, lighting, setbacks, traffic improvements and environmental conditions, will be memorialized into the county's land-use approval as conditions of approval of code requirements with Cassia County. Those obligations run with the land and are binding on TerraVolt and any future tenant, operator or buyer. Air, water and wastewater permits from state agencies are also legally enforceable, whoever operates the facility.

TerraVolt, as the property owner and developer, is legally responsible for meeting the conditions of approval. Cassia County could enforce its respective development agreement, land-use conditions, operating regulations including stop-work orders (during construction and operation), penalties and revocation of approvals. IDEQ and other state agencies separately enforce their permits, with the power to issue fines and compliance orders.

Yes. TerraVolt Holdings, Inc. is a publicly traded company. Its shares trade on the OTCQB market under the ticker symbol GEDC. As a public company, TerraVolt files regular financial reports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including quarterly and annual reports. Anyone can read those filings for free on the SEC's EDGAR website.

Our accountability to this community comes through public disclosure and SEC reporting, the county's Development Agreement and land-use conditions, and state permits. All of these are public records.

• Property tax revenue: The campus is expected to add a large amount of new taxable property to Cassia County, including the power plant, water and wastewater facilities, data center buildings and equipment. Property taxes go to local taxing districts, including the school district, highway district, county, fire district and emergency services (see Question 27 regarding Idaho's large-investment property tax provision).
• Light demand on public services: Unlike a large housing development, the campus will not add hundreds of homes or school-age children once it is built. The campus will also provide its own water, wastewater and power, and will have its own fire-protection water storage.
• Fire and emergency services: New tax revenue would give local fire and EMS districts a steady source of funding. TerraVolt could also work with them on training, emergency plans and any special equipment the campus requires.

Under Idaho Code § 63-4502, a company that invests at least $1 billion in new facilities in one Idaho county within seven years of its first building permit pays property tax on up to $400 million of taxable value; value above that is exempt. TerraVolt's own investment in power, water and campus infrastructure is estimated at $750 million to $1 billion, so whether we reach the threshold depends on final design. A data center company building on the campus would be a separate taxpayer and could reach it on its own.

Separately, Idaho offers a sales tax exemption for qualifying data centers (Idaho Code § 63-3622VV): at least $250 million of investment and at least 30 new jobs paying at or above the county average wage. That exemption applies to the data center company's servers and construction materials, not to TerraVolt's power plant.

We believe in total transparency when it comes to local taxes and economic benefits. While state incentive programs exist under current law, we know the Legislature is likely to examine these policies in the next session, and adjustments may occur. We are not structuring our project to bypass local obligations. We plan to pay our fair share of taxes, ensuring that the revenue generated stays local, directly funding county services, schools, and infrastructure where we operate.

We want to be honest about the trade-offs:

• Construction period: About three to five years of construction, with heavy truck traffic, construction noise, possible occasional rock blasting during site excavation, and a large temporary workforce (peaking at 1,000 to 1,600 workers) that will need housing and services. We expect some workforce draw from surrounding towns up to a one-hour drive away.
• Visual change: Industrial buildings, a power plant, and electrical yards where there is farmland today.
• Noise and air emissions: The power plant will produce some sound and air emissions, which will be controlled under county conditions and state air permits.
• Loss/Conversion of farmland: About 300 to 400 acres of the property will be developed.

We plan to address these with setbacks, enclosed and silenced equipment, a funded traffic-mitigation plan, closed-loop cooling that protects the aquifer, and a power plant that keeps the campus off the local grid.

The project creates jobs in two stages. First is a construction period of about three to five years, peaking at an estimated 1,000 to 1,600 workers on site and supporting local contractors, suppliers, restaurants, lodging and service businesses. After that come roughly 125 to 175 permanent full-time jobs at the campus: about 25 to 35 running TerraVolt's power, water and wastewater systems, and about 100 to 140 at the data center company. These are year-round jobs averaging about $85,000 per year.

• Construction: Heavy equipment operators, electricians, pipefitters, welders, ironworkers, concrete workers, structured cabling technicians, HVAC, Security, Fire Protection, controls and instrumentation technicians, and safety supervisors.
• Permanent operations: General and operations managers, critical facilities engineers (electrical and mechanical), power plant operators and technicians, water and wastewater operators, IT and network technicians, logistics and warehouse staff, security officers, and general facilities and grounds staff.

About 125 to 175 full-time, year-round jobs, averaging about $85,000 per year. These include facilities engineers, power plant and water operators, data center technicians, security and logistics staff, and maintenance personnel. Hiring locally will be a priority; however, there may be some jobs that require special skills that are not available in the region. TerraVolt will work with local high schools, the College of Southern Idaho, and other technical programs on training and apprenticeship programs and education.

Once it is built and running, the campus will have a modest permanent workforce ranging from 125 to 175 employees. That is far fewer people than a factory or housing development of similar size, so we do not expect rapid permanent population growth. The construction period is different. At its peak, there could be 1,000 to 1,600 workers on site, many from outside the area.

Subject to permits, we expect construction to start as early as mid-2027, with first operations targeted for late 2029. Overall construction, including site work, the gas connection, the power plant, water and wastewater systems and the first data center buildings, is expected to take about 36 months. These are large facilities, and it is typical that construction facilities will slowly demobilize over the course of one to two years as they perform warranty issues and address other issues that may arise. The construction schedule and traffic plan will be coordinated with the county.

Safety on Highway 81 is a top priority. The campus entrance will be designed to meet or exceed Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) standards. We expect to add turn lanes on Highway 81, and we are evaluating improvements at 1250 East. Entrance location, sight distance, and acceleration and deceleration lanes will be set by the traffic study and approved by ITD. During construction, truck traffic will be scheduled and routed to avoid school bus times and peak farm traffic where possible.

Yes, if the traffic study or ITD shows a better location. The final entrance points will be placed where safe sight lines can be achieved, away from hill crests and known blind spots. We will work with ITD to develop a plan for the entrances to the site. It is important to note that ITD is the decision maker on any changes to Highway 81.

Yes. A professional Traffic Impact Study, prepared by a licensed traffic engineer, is required by Cassia County and ITD. Currently, traffic studies only require evaluation of the long-term traffic counts’ impact on the volume on the road. However, we will look at peak construction traffic (we currently estimate up to about 2,500 vehicle trips per day at the construction peak), long-term operations traffic (about 300 trips per day), turning movements and road geometry and discuss with ITD what we believe needs to be done to enhance safety during construction. The study will identify the road improvements that TerraVolt will pay for.

Our lighting will be designed to minimize impact on the surrounding area while keeping the site safe for employees and workers. Because a data center runs around the clock with a small staff, lighting is focused on safe parking, walkways, entrances and security, not on lighting the entire property.

• Downward-facing, fully shielded fixtures. All parking lot and site lights will be full cutoff, so light is directed down onto the ground rather than up into the sky or out toward neighboring properties.
• Minimal light at the property line. A photometric study will be completed as part of the site plan, and light levels at the property line will be designed to about the brightness of natural moonlight, in compliance with Cassia County lighting standards.
• For comparison, typical shopping center parking lots are lit at 2 to 4 foot-candles, and office desktops at 30 to 50 foot-candles.

Site lighting will most likely be photocell-activated to meet energy codes.

Noise from the facility will be contained through sound-insulated enclosures, industrial silencers, and setback buffers from the property line. At the nearest homes, sound levels will stay between 45 and 50 dBA -comparable to normal rural background noise or a quiet conversation. Before final design, we will prepare a noise study, and the noise limits will be memorialized into the county's conditions of approval.

• Site landscaping: A landscaping plan for the site will be submitted and approved that meets the county requirements as part of the approval process. These plans may include earthen berms planted with native grasses, shrubs, and trees along public view corridors.
• Code-compliant buildings: Typically, they will be single-story buildings.
• Distance: Appropriate setbacks keep buildings far from public roads and neighboring homes.

We will not build a concrete wall along public roads or outer property lines. The outer boundary may have agricultural fencing that is wildlife-friendly where appropriate. Higher-security fencing will surround only the inner building and critical facilities areas.

We agree. A 10-foot concrete wall along county roads would be out of character with Declo. The edges of the property will stay open and agricultural in appearance, using landscaping for screening rather than security walls along public roads.

Data centers have some of the strictest physical and cyber security programs in any industry:

• Monitored perimeter sensors and cameras, controlled-access gates, and 24/7 on-site security staff. This would be surrounding the actual data center buildings and associated security gates and not the entire property.
• On-site security that coordinates directly with the Cassia County Sheriff's Office and adds another set of eyes and ears to the area.

We wanted to come to the community with real answers instead of speculation. Before engaging publicly, we secured the property agreement and a firm natural gas supply and completed early engineering and feasibility work. We are now in open dialogue with county commissioners, local stakeholders and residents, and we will keep meeting with the community throughout the approval process. We want to engage with the community and not limit your ability to ask questions to the public process that only allows you to have two minutes per person.

No. Elected officials will make their decisions through the public process. We meet with neighbors directly because we want to hear concerns early, correct misunderstandings about water and power use, and revise our plans where it makes sense before formal public hearings. We would rather address issues now.

The campus is planned to be served by an on-site well(s). Any new water rights, or any transfer of existing irrigation rights to campus use, must be approved by the Idaho Department of Water Resources (IDWR). That process includes public notice and an opportunity for neighbors and other water users to protest. Because the campus uses so little water, we expect its water needs to be far below what the property has historically used for irrigation.

The campus will handle all of its own sewage on-site instead of connecting to the city’s sewer lines, meaning it will not place any extra strain on local municipal systems.

Because the cooling equipment recycles its own water continuously rather than flushing dirty wastewater, the only water entering the treatment system comes from everyday plumbing like sinks, toilets, and kitchens. Once this water is cleaned and purified to state environmental standards (regulated by the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality), it will be used exclusively to water nearby fields and landscaped grounds. None of the water will be dumped into local rivers, streams, or waterways.

The campus will connect to the existing Northwest Pipeline through a dedicated lateral line and meter station. These are built and operated to U.S. Department of Transportation pipeline safety standards (49 CFR Part 192), with Idaho Public Utilities Commission pipeline safety oversight where applicable. The campus gas system will include leak detection, automatic emergency shutoff valves, and an emergency response plan developed with the local fire district.

Natural gas engines emit carbon dioxide (CO2). Our engines are among the most efficient gas-fired generation available, more efficient than simple-cycle gas turbines, and they use no water to generate power. The campus will report its greenhouse gas emissions to the EPA. We will continue to evaluate lower-carbon options over the campus's life, such as waste-heat recovery and future fuel and technology improvements.