Plan for first U.S. data center on public land faces scrutiny

The nation's first data center on public land was approved for development, but the Nevada site has now been put on hold for further review following public backlash. The Townsite Data Center, proposed for development on federal Bureau of Land Management property outside of Boulder City, Nevada, used plans for a solar farm to skip the environmental review process. After the public and environmental groups pushed back, the BLM asked to rescind its approval. "The environmental effects that would result from implementation of the new proposed action are similar (both quantitatively and qualitatively) to those analyzed in the existing NEPA [National Environmental Policy Act] document," read the BLM's Decision Record from June 26, approving the project's change from a solar farm to data center. The BLM decision, approved by Las Vegas Field Office Manager Bruce Sillitoe, allowed the Townsite data center to avoid its own environmental review. The unusual move to get approval for the project comes amid the federal government's effort to build out the industry following a 2025 executive order from President Donald Trump. The BLM cited this executive order in the project's July announcement. "The approval supports federal efforts to accelerate permitting for data center infrastructure and is consistent with Executive Order 14318 Accelerating Federal Permitting of Data Center Infrastructure."4 But on Sept. 21, the BLM changed directions and asked for the project's approval to be withdrawn. "Regarding environmental review, a data center and a solar project can have very different types of impacts," BLM spokesperson Don Manuszewski told The Center Square Thursday. "Solar projects primarily affect land disturbance, habitat and visual resources, while data centers involve additional considerations such as noise, backup power generation, water or cooling systems, and more frequent operational activity." Manuszewski added that the BLM is currently assessing whether the environmental impact for the solar project is sufficient for the data center proposal. She also said there is no final timeline for the project's completion. The change comes after two environmental organizations, the Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diversity, appealed the BLM's project approval and successfully requested a stay on construction while the appeal was under consideration by the Interior Board of Land Appeals. "Sierra Club does not support data center development on federal public land," said Olivia Tanager, Sierra Club Toiyabe chapter director. "In all instances of data center proposals, we do want the strictest guardrails possible to eliminate any harm to natural resources or communities, and in some cases that means saying that a data center does not belong in a specific location," Tanager told The Center Square in an email Thursday. Megan Ortiz, staff attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity's Great Basin Program, based in Las Vegas, helped draft the IBLA appeal. On Thursday, she told The Center Square via email that as the first case of data center approval on public lands, the Townsite project had national significance. "What happens here could set a precedent for how we manage public lands across the country, how we evaluate potential harms, and how projects like this get approved in the first place," said Ortiz. The Townsite project was initially set to be built on Boulder City property, but public outcry and opposition from the city government saw the project move to the nearby federal lands. The decision has not calmed public opinion on the project. "Nothing in the BLM's motion to remand commits the BLM to conduct an environmental assessment, involve the public, or designate the City as a cooperating agency, and its approval would lift the stay that is currently in place," Boulder City spokesperson Lisa LaPlante told The Center Square over email. By "stay," she was referring to the BLM's decision to rescind its approval. LaPlante added that the city would be filing opposition to the BLM motion by a court-set deadline of Oct. 5. Skylar Opportunities LLC, affiliated with the Townsite data center development company TS2 Investments LLC, did not respond to a request for comment from The Center Square.