Potawatomi Corporation Starts Construction on Milwaukee
Data Center
Data Holdings, LLC a wholly owned subsidiary of Potawatomi
Business Development Corporation, the business development arm of
the Forest County Potawatomi Community (Tribe), has started
construction on a 46,150 sq. ft. $36 million data center building
on a portion of the Tribe's trust lands in Milwaukee,
Wisconsin. The project is part of the Tribe's redevelopment of
the property following the recent departure of its former
tenant.
The Data Holdings facility will be a wholesale, Tier III-enhanced,
carrier neutral data center. The center's office space and
dedicated data suites will offer tenants a cost-effective,
flexible, secure and highly reliable IT facility for primary data
center and secondary disaster recovery data center needs. The
facility, which is expected to be ready for occupancy April 1,
2013, is financed in part by a loan guaranteed by the Department of
Interior's Indian Loan Guaranty Program administered by the
Department of Interior's Division of Capital Investment within
the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development. Godfrey &
Kahn has been privileged to represent the tribal corporations in
connection with the project.
Energy Independence: Using Tribal Energy Consumption as
an Asset
Tribes with casinos and other energy-intensive business
facilities are generally experiencing significant and increasing
costs for their electricity usage. This significant financial cost
can, however, be turned into a potential benefit, by both promoting
tribal energy independence and helping to meet tribal
sustainability and cost-reduction goals.
Casinos and other large energy-using tribal commercial and
industrial facilities often have relatively flat load profiles
(that is, these facilities tend to use the same amount of energy
seven days a week, 24 hours a day). This load profile often makes
these facilities attractive sites for baseload renewable energy
facilities, such as landfill gas, biogas, and other waste-to-energy
facilities, as well as natural gas co-generation facilities. In
addition, tribal casinos and other large energy-using facilities
that are facing relatively high retail electricity prices can
provide attractive energy pricing opportunities for developers of
these energy facilities, even if that pricing includes a
substantial reduction from the energy rates the tribes are
presently paying or will pay in the future. This is because of the
generally very significant difference between wholesale and retail
electricity prices. Also, the ability of tribal casinos and other
facilities to utilize waste heat to displace natural gas and/or to
provide cooling can provide substantial additional value. Finally,
a tribe's ability to control siting decisions on tribal trust
land can often be substantially beneficial to renewable energy
projects.
One strategy for ensuring that a tribe can receive the best offers
for the siting of waste-to energy and other clean energy facilities
is to conduct a competitive request for information (RFI) or
request for proposals (RFP) process that targets developers and
technologies that are likely best suited to meet the tribe's
needs. Godfrey & Kahn has significant experience in developing
renewable energy projects and in working with energy users to
conduct RFI/RFP processes to help ensure that our clients receive
the best possible renewable and other energy opportunities. An
RFI/RFP process could make potential developers and technology
providers aware of the beneficial attributes of the tribal site,
including the size and characteristics of its electrical load, its
ability to utilize otherwise waste heat from a generation facility,
its ability to provide a site for a generation facility and other
beneficial attributes. The RFI/RFP process could also require
developers to disclose information that would help ensure that the
tribe receives maximum benefits from the project, including
reductions in current and future energy pricing, use of waste heat
for the tribe's benefit, the ability to share in the value of
tax credits, grants, and other incentives, the option to purchase
the facility in the future for a reduced price, and other
benefits.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
