Data centers proposed on federal land in Eastern Oregon, Western states - Oregon Public Broadcasting
A federal executive order has spurred proposals for over a dozen data centers on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land across six Western states. In Oregon, Copia is developing a project in Umatilla County, near Hermiston. Meanwhile, an approved data center on BLM land near Boulder City, Nevada, has been delayed due to a lawsuit filed by the city against the BLM.
President Donald Trump's July 2025 executive order, which mandated the use of federally owned land for "the expeditious and orderly development of data centers," has led to at least 12 data center proposals on more than 17,500 acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land across Western states including Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming. This marks the first time the BLM has been directed to include data centers in its land management portfolio.
One such project, the Charlestown Data Center and Battery Energy Storage System, is being proposed by California-based energy company Copia near Hermiston in Umatilla County, Oregon. Copia, which has an office in Lake Oswego, submitted an application and a draft development plan for the 106-acre site on BLM land. Umatilla County already hosts a significant portion of Oregon's data centers. Copia is also behind the Snake River Energy Data Center proposed on BLM land in Jerome, Lincoln, and Gooding Counties in southern Idaho, which is currently undergoing an environmental review.
Another significant proposal, the Rhea Data Center project by Nevada-based Arevia Power, is planned for over 3,200 acres of federal land south of Boise, Idaho, and could become the largest data center in the state, including a natural gas power facility. Despite the push for development, one project near Boulder City, Nevada, that had been approved on 80 acres of federal land, has been put on hold. The city of Boulder City filed a lawsuit against the BLM, citing a lack of public comment period and unauthorized modifications to the project's scope without a new environmental review.