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Data Center Registry

Big Watt Digital Sully Buttes Mining Facility

Onida, Sully County, South Dakota

OperatingSupportedRecord updated August 5, 2026

Big Watt Digital Sully Buttes Mining Facility is an operating crypto mining site in Onida, South Dakota (Sully County), operated by Big Watt Digital. The public record puts it at announced 2022, 300 MW planned. It has documented public support and no documented opposition.

Every line on this page traces to a public source listed at the bottom. Where a figure was looked for and not found, the row says so. A blank is never a zero.

Facility record

Operating

Operator
Big Watt Digital
Facility type
Crypto mining
Location
Onida, Sully County, SD
Coordinates
44.7050, -100.3115 (approximate)
Power capacity
30 MW operating; 300 MW planned
Land
Not established from a public source
Investment
Not established from a public source
Announced
2022
Utility
Not established from a public source
Power source
Wind
Cooling
Not established from a public source
Water use
Not established from a public source
Jobs
Not established from a public source
Public subsidy
Not established from a public source
Community reception
Supported
Source confidence
Confirmed by multiple independent sources or official documentation

Opposition and litigation at this site

Not that we can document. Local officials or residents have expressed public support for Big Watt Digital Sully Buttes Mining Facility in Onida, Sully County, South Dakota, and no opposition, petition, or lawsuit appears in the sources this registry tracks as of August 5, 2026.

If you live near this site and something is happening that this page does not show, that is worth telling us. Send us the document and it goes in the record with the source attached. For sites where opposition is already established, see every contested site we track.

How the community has taken it

Reception is a sourced signal, not an editorial judgment: supported means local officials or residents have expressed public support and no opposition is documented.

Notes on the record

Pierre-based Big Watt Digital's Sully Buttes facility, ~12 mi west of Onida adjacent to Oahe Electric's Sully Buttes substation, Sully County. Sully County Planning & Zoning recommended approval 2022-12-28 (initial ~12.5MW draw, 24 liquid-cooled containerized units, projected 15-25 jobs and ~$325K/yr in kWh tax revenue to the Agar-Blunt-Onida school district); targeted March 2023 startup. Big Watt formed a July 2023 joint venture with Consensus Technology Group covering an initial 30MW of hosting capacity. As of January 2026 (South Dakota Searchlight), it is South Dakota's largest data center, with plans to scale to 300MW / ~100 FTE jobs plus ~300 construction jobs; the county's economic-development official described welcoming further expansion 'with open arms.' Company markets the site as '100% renewable energy' ('carbon-neutral Bitcoin mining'); exact generation mix (direct wind PPA vs. purchased renewable credits) not independently confirmed in sources read this pass. First tracked SD facility of any type in this dataset (SD previously zero).

What the record does not establish, and the document that would

In every fight on our tracker the decisive fact came out of a public records request. These are the requests for this site.

  • Cooling method and water use
  • Tax abatements or other public subsidy
  • Permanent jobs promised
  • Land area
  • Which utility serves it
Which document closes each gap
Cooling method and water use
The water service agreement, any groundwater appropriation permit, and the mechanical narrative in the site plan.
Tax abatements or other public subsidy
The abatement, PILOT, or development agreement approved by the county, city, or development authority, and the state's data center sales tax exemption certificate if one was issued.
Permanent jobs promised
The economic development application or incentive agreement, which usually states a job commitment and a clawback.
Land area
The rezoning application, the plat, or the deed recorded with the county.
Which utility serves it
The electric service agreement or the utility's filing with the state public utility commission.

Have one of these documents? Send it to us and we will add it to the record with attribution.

Questions people ask about this site

Is there opposition to the Big Watt Digital Sully Buttes Mining Facility in Onida?

Not that we can document. Local officials or residents have expressed public support for Big Watt Digital Sully Buttes Mining Facility in Onida, Sully County, South Dakota, and no opposition, petition, or lawsuit appears in the sources this registry tracks as of August 5, 2026.

Has anyone filed a lawsuit over the Big Watt Digital Sully Buttes Mining Facility?

No lawsuit over Big Watt Digital Sully Buttes Mining Facility appears in the record we track as of August 5, 2026. Residents most often reach a lawyer over water supply, well drawdown, noise from cooling plant, property value, or a rezoning approved without the notice the ordinance required. If any of that is happening near this site, it is worth a review whether or not a case has been filed yet.

How much water does Big Watt Digital Sully Buttes Mining Facility use?

No water withdrawal figure for Big Watt Digital Sully Buttes Mining Facility is on record here. Water use is rarely published voluntarily; it usually surfaces through a utility service agreement or a state withdrawal permit, both of which are public records. We leave the number blank rather than estimate one.

Who operates Big Watt Digital Sully Buttes Mining Facility, and how big is it?

Big Watt Digital is the operator on record. Capacity on record is 300 MW.

How to cite this page

SueDataCenters.org Data Center Registry, "Big Watt Digital Sully Buttes Mining Facility," updated August 5, 2026, https://suedatacenters.org/data-centers/big-watt-digital-onida-sd.

Facility data from Compute Atlas (E. Kubiak), version 1.32.0 (September 7, 2026), licensed CC BY 4.0, record https://www.compute-atlas.com/facilities/big-watt-digital-onida-sd, retrieved September 14, 2026.

Corrections with a public source are welcome at the Compute Atlas record or through our contact page. The whole registry is available as CSV and JSON under CC BY 4.0.

Sources for this record

As compiled and cited by Compute Atlas, with our own reporting appended. Archived links are used where the original has moved.

  1. 1.Planning and zoning board gives the nod to Bitcoin facility · Onida Watchman · retrieved August 5, 2026
  2. 2.Big Watt Digital Forms Joint Venture with Consensus Technology Group · GlobeNewswire · retrieved August 5, 2026
  3. 3.Sully County, home to SD's largest data center, would welcome more with 'open arms,' official says · South Dakota Searchlight · retrieved August 5, 2026

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