Interior Department pauses BLM's plans for proposed Boulder City data center
The Interior Department's Board of Land Appeals has paused the Bureau of Land Management's plans to allow Townsite Solar 2 LLC to build a data center near Boulder City, Nevada. The decision favors Boulder City and environmental groups, who argued that BLM's environmental review for a solar plant was insufficient for a much larger data center project. This stay temporarily halts the project due to concerns over environmental impacts and public interest.
The Interior Department's Board of Land Appeals has issued a stay, pausing the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) plans to permit a data center near Boulder City, Nevada. The decision, made on Tuesday, favors Boulder City officials and environmental groups like Centers for Biological Diversity, who had challenged BLM's determination that the proposed data center project was "essentially like" a previously approved solar power plant with similar environmental impacts.
Townsite Solar 2 LLC, the developer, initially secured a right-of-way in 2023 to build a solar power plant on BLM-managed land, with an environmental assessment (EA) conducted under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). After withdrawing an earlier data center application due to public backlash, the company then sought to modify its existing right-of-way to construct a data center and a battery storage system twice the size of the original power plant.
However, the Interior Department found that the data center project was not "substantially the same" as the solar plant, and therefore, BLM had not adequately studied its potential environmental effects. Councilman Steve Walton expressed strong opposition, calling BLM's conclusion "absolutely out of line." Resident Grant Turner noted the lack of "good faith negotiation" from the developer. The Board of Land Appeals cited likely "permanent and irreparable harm" to the aesthetic and recreational interests of CBD members, ruling that the public interest requires a thorough environmental review, outweighing the developer's temporary financial harm.