STAK Energy North Slope Data Center
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The state is currently moving to grant a 50-year lease to STAK Energy Corporation for a massive 715 acres AI and Cloud campus hyperscale data center on the North Slope — a facility that by its own documents would consume more than twice the natural gas currently used by all of urban Alaska, powered by a new dedicated pipeline, during an active statewide energy crisis. More than 500 public comments arrived before the first deadline; fewer than a dozen supported the project.
The project’s location approximately 26 miles south of Deadhorse places it outside the core coastal caribou calving zone but within the range used for post-calving movements and fall migration. With a facility this size there is no way of knowing how the EMF’s this hyperscale data center will put off will effect caribou birthing rates and migration.
The Arctic Coastal Plain supports globally significant populations of nesting shorebirds, waterfowl, and passerines. Direct habitat loss from the 715-acre footprint will eliminate nesting habitat. Operational noise and artificial lighting from 24-hour HPC operations during the polar night may create ongoing disturbance and attract and confuse migratory birds.
Backup diesel generators will provide redundancy during maintenance or gas supply interruptions also contributing to air pollution.
If approved STAK anticipates initial operations to begin by late 2028. The project will be constructed in phases, beginning with site preparation and gravel road and pad development, followed by installation of a natural gas pipeline, utilities, power generation systems, and HPC modules.