La Pine, Oregon City Council Rejects Proposed Data Center Development
La Pine, Oregon residents successfully opposed a proposed 20-megawatt data center development by Boxminer.io. Concerns over environmental impacts, power grid strain, and doubted economic benefits led the La Pine City Council to unanimously vote against the project, effectively shutting it down.
At a crowded city council meeting in La Pine, Oregon, residents voiced strong opposition to a proposed 20-megawatt data center development by Boxminer.io, led by developer Jeff Keller. Opponents expressed concerns about potential groundwater contamination, hazardous material release, and the fragility of Central Oregon's power grid, which they feared could not support the facility's substantial electricity demands. Doubts were also cast on Keller's estimates of 50-200 jobs and multi-million dollar payouts to the city and Midstate Electric Cooperative. City Manager Geoff Wullschlager's report further highlighted discrepancies in the developer's financial projections.
Despite Keller's defense of the high-tech industrial use in the La Pine Industrial Park, the city councilors unanimously voted against the project, marking a significant victory for the mobilized community. This decision reflects a broader trend of community opposition to data center expansion in Oregon and across the U.S., prompting state-level legislation requiring data centers to cover infrastructure costs and pay their fair share for electricity.