Data centers in Nevada

Tom Gaitens, senior adviser at Humans First, calls data center development an apolitical issue where everyone drinks water, uses electricity and wants their voice heard

Tom Gaitens says that if data centers are considered on public lands, they should be limited to locations with pre existing build outs, like decommissioned military sites, rather than new construction in open spaces

Tom Gaitens stated that data center development should only take place with community input and full transparency

A conservative group called Humans First is conducting a 27 state bus tour advocating for local control and limiting corporate influence in data center construction

Aaron Ford, Nevada Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate, calls for pause of data center tax breaks pending GOED audit of facilities for compliance with job creation, tax revenue, and economic benefit commitments.

Ford proposes extending ban on evaporative cooling already in place in Southern Nevada, demanding union jobs and requiring data center energy usage not lead to price hikes for other consumers.

Nye County Commissioner Ian Bayne said he remains confident in the data center ban law

Yvette Fernandez has reported on the politics of data centers and what that means for Nevada's economy

The 2015 Senate Bill 170 data center abatement program did not contain protections for energy or water use.

Ronnie Najarro, AFP NV State Director, praised Governor Lombardo's executive order reforming the state's data center tax abatement program, which requires companies receiving incentives to cover their own power costs, meet local water standards, and stop diverting revenue from Nevada's schools

Alexander Marks, Nevada State Education Association, stated that dedicating some revenue to public education does not make bad policy good policy, opposing the order's approach

John Vellardita, Clark County Education Association Executive Director, called the executive order a very important first step and noted that every dollar to K-12 education is meaningful

Clark County Education Association represents 18,000 teachers and released an 8 point plan regarding data center requirements including water protection, power grid protection, workforce development, and reviewing property tax abatement

Governor Lombardo said I promised Nevadans that data centers would be developed responsibly with the community's interest in mind

Aaron Ford, Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate, says he has a data center agenda for the state's next governor

Khara Boender, Data Center Coalition Director of Government Affairs for the West, said the group thanks Governor Lombardo for his leadership but has concerns that some policies create additional hurdles to data center development in Nevada

Aaron Ford said he wants guardrails and separate conversations on AI and data centers, including possible age restrictions, content restrictions, and parental controls

Aaron Ford, Democratic gubernatorial candidate, said local communities should not be forced to have data centers if they don't want them and that local say is paramount

CCEA Executive Director John Vellardita told KNPR that the union is working with state lawmakers to add the proposal to the 2027 legislative agenda.

Vellardita says office is already working with state lawmakers to add proposal to 2027 legislative agenda.

Clark County Education Association unveiled an eight point plan to reshape public perspective of data centers.

Google's Nevada Clean Energy Fund investment will support the Residential Energy Upgrade Program, bringing free weatherization and energy efficiency improvements to households in data center communities.

Sen. Dina Neal plans to introduce bill during 2027 legislative session to repeal data center tax breaks and place moratorium on new data centers

Google announced a $10 million Energy Impact Fund to support energy innovation and affordability in Nevada, with $5 million to the Nevada Clean Energy Fund.

Nevada Democrats released website calling Gov. Joe Lombardo Data Center Joe

Reno mayoral candidate Kathleen Taylor opposed data centers in residential neighborhoods and said residential rate increases are unacceptable

Lombardo's campaign did not give a direct yes or no answer but said that the state already has strong measures in place to shield ratepayers from any increases associated with data centers.

Many data center companies declined or were unresponsive to media requests for facility tours and interviews about their operations

Desert Research Institute published a paper on data centers in Nevada that was cited in news reporting

There is no single authoritative agency that tracks data center information in Nevada or monitors their impact to the environment and community

Local communities express concerns that data centers demand large quantities of land and resources but public access and transparency about their operations is very limited

Channel 13 conducted a weeklong series on data centers in Southern Nevada starting September 11, 2026 to explore industry impacts and community concerns

Critics say the risk to local power bills isn't worth it

CCEA estimates their proposal could bring $2 billion in local schools support tax to the state pupil centered funding formula in four years

Dina Neal is a Nevada state senator

Clark County Education Association proposes requiring data centers to pay Local School Support Tax, a 2.6 percent tax on retail sales

New or expanding data centers receive a 75 percent abatement on personal property tax and pay a reduced sales and use tax rate of 2 percent for 10 to 20 years

Judge David Gunter found appellants likely to prevail requiring Bureau of Land Management to provide new environmental studies and public input before project can proceed

Data centers receive property tax breaks up to 75 percent for 10 or 20 years, contingent on retaining 10 or 50 full time employees

Gov. Joe Lombardo is supportive of data centers and says state has safeguards in place

State Sen. Dina Neal requested drafting bill to end tax abatements and implement moratorium on data centers

Nevada experiencing data center boom with massive power demand

CCEA proposes ending abatement of local schools support tax for data centers

John Vellardita says there are seven to nine new data centers planned to open in Nevada

CCEA said Nevada current incentive model does not provide enough public benefit in exchange for tax breaks offered to data center projects

BLM did not conduct new environmental assessments when Townsite Solar changed project from solar to data center

Clark County Education Association on Tuesday unveiled eight point plan for data center development based on accountability, transparency and community partnership

Boulder City officials opposed the data center project

Joe Lombardo, Republican incumbent Nevada Governor, states average data center consumes less water than 25 to 50 homes and does not raise resident utility rates, and calls data centers the new gold rush

Ford plans to audit data centers to verify they are upholding promises on water usage, electricity, and labor

Aaron Ford, Democratic candidate for Nevada Governor, says he will put brakes on tax giveaways to data centers, require them to use own water and green energy, and audit state tax abatements to ensure compliance

Aaron Ford, Nevada Democratic candidate for governor, calls for pausing all data center tax abatements going forward

Lombardo campaign ad claims Aaron Ford sponsored bill that gave tax breaks to data centers with no restrictions on water or power consumption

President Trump praised data centers as essential for community wealth and lowering taxes, warning communities opposing them risk poverty, crime and squalor

Northern Nevada is one of the top five markets for data centers in the country and one of the fastest growing on a global scale

Clay Mitchell, Storey County Commissioner, stated he does not advocate for other jurisdictions to do what Storey County did with Switch and Google data centers

Nicole Cannizzaro, Nevada Democratic AG candidate, released plan on data centers requiring operators cover infrastructure costs, ban cost shifting to ratepayers, ban nondisclosure agreements, require local input on siting, require environmental reviews, require transparency on power and water consumption, and ensure behind the meter facilities get PUC oversight

Data centers have emerged as an issue in Nevada's 2026 attorney general race, with residents in Boulder City, Henderson, Pahrump, and Reno calling for moratoriums or stronger rules.

Fleet Data Centers expects gas power plants to operate for about two to three years until NV Energy can deliver permanent utility service to Tahoe Reno Industrial Center

Ford said data center dynamics have changed since 2015 and pausing tax breaks is the responsible thing to do

Aaron Ford recently pledged to pause new data center tax breaks

Aaron Ford, Nevada Attorney General, co sponsored the original 2015 bill to give data centers tax breaks

On August 19, 2026, Democrat Attorney General Aaron Ford said he will pause new data center tax breaks as governor

Aaron Ford said on August 19, 2026, that he will pause new data center tax breaks as governor to ensure Nevadans get their money's worth

"The facility would use a closed-loop cooling system that does not consume water on a daily basis beyond restrooms and kitchenettes."

Sean McKenna, executive director of the Division of Hydrologic Sciences at the Desert Research Institute, stated that Nevada has potential but faces challenges balancing data center expansion with other stakeholder priorities

DataBank CEO Raul K. Martynek said the purchase aligns with DataBank's strategy of owning the largest edge data center footprint in the United States.