Nevada's largest county to consider data center regulations — but likely not a moratorium

The Clark County Commission in Nevada is scheduled to discuss potential new regulations and approval criteria for data center construction. This comes two weeks after a contentious approval of a Switch data center expansion, which prompted protests from more than a dozen residents at a previous county commission meeting. Commissioner Tick Segerblom, who requested the discussion, noted the public's concern over data centers, though he indicated a full moratorium is unlikely to be considered at this time.

The discussion follows similar considerations or implementations of moratoriums in other Nevada municipalities like Reno and Henderson. Communities across the state have raised concerns about the environmental impact, water usage, and potential increases in electricity costs associated with new data center infrastructure, particularly amidst the AI boom. The Toiyabe Chapter of the Sierra Club, led by director Olivia Tanager, has proposed an eight-page policy advocating for "best practices" in data center regulation, suggesting zoning requirements to keep data centers away from residential areas, schools, and parks, as well as mandating renewable energy use, noise limits, and closed-loop cooling systems.

Southern Nevada already implemented a ban on evaporative cooling in 2023, affecting older facilities like a Google data center campus in Henderson. Segerblom referenced Switch as a "gold standard" for its reported 100% renewable energy use and closed-loop cooling, but expressed concern that other incoming data centers might not meet such standards, emphasizing the need for an ordinance to "get ahead of the game."