One of the most divisive political issues of the decade hit the Clark County Commission on Tuesday as officials began considering how to regulate data centers in the driest state’s biggest county.
While commissioners did not discuss specific regulations relating to data centers, they directed county staff to conduct further research into their impact. Commissioner William McCurdy II said the commission should seek a uniform standard for companies that seek to construct data centers, which he acknowledged would be a “herculean effort.”
“We have to look at it with a holistic approach and get all the information so we can also make informed decisions as we look to approve good actors in the future,” he said.
Jennifer Cooper, a spokesperson for Clark County, said commissioners have authority over data centers only in areas that are unincorporated; city councils are in charge of development in Las Vegas, Henderson and North Las Vegas.
State legislators are evaluating how to reform state tax incentives for companies looking to operate data centers, and commissioners said they plan on consulting the state, researchers, other jurisdictions and others.
The discussion reflects a broader wave of local government action across the state and nation. AI data centers have been built in communities over the past decade, but the past few years have brought greater concern over energy demand, water consumption, heat generation, air pollution and other issues.
Last month, the Henderson City Council became the first government body in the Las Vegas Valley to propose a pause on data center approvals. Reno City Council approved a moratorium that will last until August 2027, the first such moratorium in the state.
Southern Nevada has a unique framework to deal with water usage. Its ban on evaporative cooling systems extends to data centers, meaning tech companies cannot allow water to evaporate when cooling off computer servers.
More data centers are coming. At its June 17 meeting, Clark County commissioners greenlit a proposal from Switch, a Las Vegas-based tech giant, to add a data center to its massive complex in the Southwest valley.
While new data centers in the Las Vegas Valley may not require a significant amount of water for cooling, all data centers have outsized power demands. According to NV Energy, data centers proposed throughout the state could account for 64 percent of its electricity sales, up from 5 percent of electricity sales today.
Some push for a moratorium, specific rules
About a dozen members of the Sierra Club’s Toiyabe chapter called for a pause on data center approvals during a pre-meeting press conference outside of the Clark County government building.
The Sierra Club’s Nevada staff has been lobbying behind closed doors at local governments throughout the state, encouraging them to adopt moratoriums while the Nevada Legislature works on the issue.
“We are here to advocate for a moratorium,” said Kevin Castellanos, a Sierra Club member. “We need to pause, come together and assess as a people the guidelines and the regulatory framework that these developments require before moving full steam ahead on their development.”
Cooper, the county spokesperson, said only one data center developer has applied to build a new facility, but staff has not heard from them this year.
Aaron Harris, the volunteer transit coordinator for the Sierra Club Toiyabe chapter, said data centers occupy “valuable urban land,” while creating few jobs.
“Southern Nevada needs to focus on building up, not out, and invest our local skilled building trades into building the housing and healthcare facilities and other critical infrastructure that we need in order to assure our ability to continue surviving out here in the desert,” Harris said.
During public comment periods at the commission meeting, about 15 community members spoke in opposition to data centers.
One was Jasmine Kreutzer, a student at the College of Southern Nevada, who said it was essential to take the time to properly understand data centers before allowing their construction.
“I’m not saying that they shouldn’t be here at all,” Kreutzer said. “I’m just saying that we should get all the facts first before we’re implementing them.”
Some public commenters referenced the commission’s recent approval of Switch’s data center proposal. Jacqueline Flores of the Nevada Property Rights Alliance, asked commissioners to adopt a moratorium, as well as make data available to the public about the facilities’ water and energy use.
Flores said she isn’t sure the commissioners’ claims that Switch is an efficient model worth replicating will hold up.
“The hard data behind them has never been made available to the public or independent third-party experts for real scrutiny,” Flores said. “Instead, the same talking points are regurgitated, meeting after meeting, by this board, its staff, and Switch. This gives the false impression that Switch is somehow the exception.”
Contact Alan Halaly at ahalaly@reviewjournal.com and Sophie Baker at sbaker@reviewjournal.com.
