Clark County commissioners tentatively greenlit a proposal from Switch to add another data center to its megacomplex in the southwest valley.
Acting as the zoning board, commissioners voted unanimously in a meeting Wednesday to approve land-use entitlements for the expansion proposed by the Las Vegas-based technology infrastructure company.
Final approval for the project — opposed by environmental groups and residents who raised objections during the meeting’s public comment period — will be affirmed if no commissioner requests a subsequent hearing within five working days, according to the county.
While several commissioners generally expressed apprehension about new data centers, their water and energy use, and the noise they emit, they cited Switch’s modus operandi in supporting the proposal.
They noted that Switch data centers use 100 percent renewable energy from infrastructure it funded. They are cooled by closed-loop systems that use non-evaporative fluids.
Furthermore, the complex has produced zero noise complaints for over a decade because the company owns the surrounding land, Commissioner Michael Naft said.
“While my motion today is for approval,” he added, “this is not applicable to every data center, nor should it be taken as a commentary on data centers.”
Commissioner April Becker said that Switch infrastructure is not comparable to other data centers across the country and the “horror stories” coming out of them.
“I think this is an example of where we can look at what they’re doing right,” she said. “And I think it should be utilized throughout the country as an example.”
Switch already operates multiple data centers within its complex as the company continues to expand its footprint throughout the valley and other states.
Data center backlash
The vote came as Southern Nevada municipalities deal with public pushback over new data center proposals.
Just last month, Boulder City’s Planning Commission voted to recommend that the City Council reject an 88.5-acre data center proposed by Texas-based Skylar Capital Management. Most of the dozens of residents who showed up at the hourslong meeting spoke against the project.
A final vote is expected at a later date.
The city of Henderson on Tuesday introduced an ordinance that, if passed, would make it the first Southern Nevada municipality to place a 180-day moratorium on data center applications.
The City Council was slated to consider the ordinance on July 21.
In Northern Nevada, the Reno City Council approved a roughly yearlong pause on AI data center approvals while it explores possible regulations on future developments.
Environmental groups oppose Switch’s proposal
Still, residents made their voices heard at the Clark County meeting Wednesday.
“This proposal should be viewed in the context of a rapidly expanding data center industry in our state, not as a single isolated building,” said Jackie Spicer with the Nevada Environmental Justice Coalition.
NV Energy, she noted, is considering building new natural gas plants to keep up with energy demand driven in part by data centers.
“(It) demonstrates a disregard for utility affordability, public health and our state’s publicly determined renewable portfolio standards,” Spicer said.
Haley Johnson of the Sierra Club and the Nevada Environmental Justice Coalition, said that data centers are driving climate change.
“I’d ask you to weigh the facts,” she said. “Every new data center adds pressure to Nevada’s electric grid and accelerates the need for new energy infrastructure.”
Johnson also called for full transparency of data centers’ energy and water usage.
Minja Yan, the presumed Democratic nominee for the County Commission’s District F seat, said Switch’s southwest valley footprint is incompatible with the neighborhood.
“The biggest problem is that it’s not that we are lacking things that we can build, it’s that we are lacking a vision,” she said.
Switch did not respond to a request for further comment on the vote.
Company says it’s dedicated to Nevada
Its proposal calls for the construction of warehouses totaling nearly 57,000 square feet within 9 acres on the campus, according to the proposal. The buildings will house the data center, server, power and utility rooms, and shipping, receiving and office spaces.
The location, near Warm Springs Road and Edmond Street, is visible from the 215 Beltway.
Natalie Mitchell, Switch’s senior vice president of government affairs and campus development, touted the company’s environmental efforts and the roughly 1,200 full-time employees stationed at its Clark County headquarters.
“We are extremely dedicated to the state of Nevada,” she told commissioners. “We’re very proud to be headquartered here in Nevada and Clark County.”
Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com.
