The Pulse
Nevada Data Center Fight Puts Federal Land in Governor’s Race
A proposed data center near Boulder City has turned federal land into a campaign issue in Nevada’s governor’s race. Residents oppose the project, while Gov. Joe Lombardo and Democratic nominee Aaron Ford differ on whether data centers shoul
AI.info Team · Written with AI ·
Boulder City residents say they were shut out of a decision to put a data center on federal land near their homes. The Bureau of Land Management approved the project anyway, turning a local land-use fight into a dispute over federal authority and an issue in Nevada’s governor’s race.
“Not only did we not get to decide anything or have a say,” resident Janelle Sorenson told the Associated Press, “we were just really kept in the dark.” The BLM approved the Townsite Data Center in June. The agency’s approval notice describes a project on 88.5 acres of public land near Boulder City.
A BLM approval meets a local appeal
The developer, Townsite Solar 2 LLC, first sought a nearby city-owned site, but withdrew its application after local opposition, the AP reported. It then pursued federal land. Boulder City says the project would rely on local utilities and emergency services, while the city and environmental groups challenged the federal approval and the adequacy of public input.
The approval is on hold. On September 1, the Interior Department’s Board of Land Appeals granted a stay while it considers the challenge. In a statement posted by the city, the board said challengers were likely to succeed on their claim that the BLM’s environmental analysis for a planned solar facility was insufficient because a solar project and a data center were not “substantially the same.” The board expedited the appeal; the city’s notice gives no date for a final decision.
The BLM’s public notice says the project supports federal efforts to accelerate data-center permitting. Its project page lists Townsite Solar 2 LLC as the applicant and records a decision date of June 26. The project’s path from a proposed solar development to a data center is now central to the legal dispute.
Two candidates offer different lines on public land
The fight carries particular weight in Nevada, where roughly 80% of the land is federally owned, according to the AP. Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo has not opposed data centers on public land outright, saying they should have community support. Democratic nominee and state Attorney General Aaron Ford has pledged to oppose data centers on public lands, arguing that affordable housing should come first.
Both candidates say data-center developers should follow state rules on paying for energy and protecting water, or risk losing state tax abatements. Lombardo signed an executive order in September setting conditions for data-center tax abatements, including full payment of the Local School Support Tax and a binding community commitment. The order also requires developers seeking abatements to take responsibility for project costs that could otherwise fall on utility customers.
The candidates have also attacked each other over the state’s tax incentives. Ford co-sponsored the 2015 law that created Nevada’s data-center abatement program; Lombardo has criticized that role. Ford, in turn, has criticized Lombardo for granting more than $200 million in tax breaks to data centers, the AP reported.
Opposition crosses party lines
For residents, worries about water, wildlife, electricity costs and the character of the community have brought political opponents together. Sorenson told the AP, “We’re all aligned on this.” Another Boulder City resident, Autumn McGrath-Shook, said she had left the Republican Party for the Green Party over data-center concerns, though she still identifies as conservative.
David Damore, a political science professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, called data centers a “catalyzing issue” in the midterms. Candidates in other states have also shifted position as residents raise concerns about power bills, water use and local control, the AP reported. In Nevada, those anxieties now meet a specific project whose approval is both federally contested and politically salient.
The appeal leaves the project’s next step uncertain
Industry representatives argue that development can proceed responsibly. Dan Diorio, executive vice president of state policy and government affairs for the Data Center Coalition, told the AP that “the good-faith actors in this space are going to be approaching that development responsibly.” Environmental advocates counter that building on public land can sidestep protections and limit community participation.
Olivia Tanager, director of the Sierra Club’s Toiyabe Chapter, told the AP: “We believe that public lands are reserved for public good and should be protected and kept in trust for future generations.” The Interior Department appeal will determine whether the Townsite approval can stand; until the board rules, the project remains stayed, and the dispute over who gets a voice in federal-land development is already shaping Nevada’s campaign.