Pawnee weighs study for proposed Black Bear AI data center as residents raise cost concerns

PAWNEE, Okla. — Pawnee has not approved the Black Bear AI data center project and has only agreed to move forward with a study in partnership with Oklahoma AI Venture examining how the proposed facility near Morrison and Pawnee could connect to the power grid, Mayor Alice Cottle announced in a Facebook post.

In the post, Cottle said the study would determine what upgrades are needed and how much they would cost. For Pawnee residents Jeff Israel and Binky Harshbarger, one of the biggest questions is what a project of this size could mean for people already living there.

"Hoping it doesn't raise the utility bills and stuff like that for us," Israel said.

"Hoping the property taxes on our properties every year, or something. Every time something like this happens our bills go up," Harshbarger said.

2 News spoke with Cottle over the phone, and she said the potential data center would be located off of Highway 15 near Willow Creek Wind. That would put the facility just north of Morrison and west of Pawnee.

Harshbarger said he hopes for transparency.

"I hope everybody is just kept in the loop of what's going on with it, and understands it more than I do," Harshbarger said.

Israel echoed that sentiment.

"Yeah, I'm hoping that they explain it to the people that live around here exactly what their goals are and what we need to expect," Israel said.

Cottle also said on the call that if the project moves forward, Pawnee could potentially provide electricity to the data center, but that would require additional agreements and approvals from the city. She said Oklahoma AI Venture would pay for any upgrades needed.

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