Pocatello to hold public hearing on proposed AI data center

The city of Pocatello, Idaho, is holding a public hearing on a conditional-use permit (CUP) application for a proposed artificial intelligence data center. The application, submitted by Gus Shultz of Lex Developments LLC, seeks to secure entitlements for a data center on a 59-acre site at 1800 River Park Way, currently owned by Portneuf Capital LLC. The site was previously home to a polysilicon plant built by Hawaii-based Hoku Materials, which filed for bankruptcy in 2013. The hearing will be conducted by the Pocatello Hearing Examiner, an advisory group to the City Council responsible for CUP decisions. Planning and Development Director Brent McLane explained that this unique situation, where data centers are not explicitly allowed or restricted in city code, prompted the decision to seek extensive public input. Mayor Mark Dahlquist emphasized the city's neutral stance, focusing on facilitating the process and ensuring any development benefits Pocatello residents. Key concerns include the project's potential electricity and water consumption. Idaho Power indicates the facility could require 100-200 megawatts, comparable to Pocatello's entire annual energy use, potentially doubling the city's consumption. While Lex Developments claims near-zero ongoing potable water use due to closed-loop cooling, city officials from Water Pollution Control have raised questions about wastewater discharge and chemical use that remain unaddressed in the application. The project's potential to increase local temperatures, a phenomenon dubbed "data heat island effect" by recent research, is also a topic of discussion.