A Nevada Solar Site Becomes a Data Center on Federal Land

Federal regulators approved an AI data center on land once cleared for a solar farm, adding load without adding generation.

The Bureau of Land Management announced it would allow an AI data center on federal land within Boulder City, Nevada. The parcel had been approved in 2023 as a right-of-way for the second phase of Townsite Solar, a joint venture between a Bill Perkins investment subsidiary and developer Arevon. Earlier in 2026, the project entity notified the city it would build a data center instead.

The mechanics matter. The data center would install no new power generation, connecting instead to an existing substation. Boulder City's planning commission rejected the project within city limits, so the developer went to the adjacent federal land, where BLM approved it without new public hearings — concluding the data center was essentially the same as the previously approved solar farm. Officials say it is the first major data center approval on federal lands.

For energy abundance this is a double setback: a site cleared to add clean supply now instead adds consumption drawing on the existing grid. Boulder City estimates losing about $2.3 million in annual leasing and tax revenue if the project moves to federal land, and at least two more gas-powered data centers are poised for federal permitting.

The Center for Biological Diversity and the Sierra Club plan a legal challenge. Caveats: the "first on federal land" claim rests on local officials and a former BLM official's belief, the developer's statement was unattributed, and the revenue figure comes from the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Source: Heatmap