A data center developer has withdrawn its plans for a facility in Boulder City, Nevada, and is instead pursuing a project on adjacent federal land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The move marks a significant shift in strategy for the company, which had originally secured a right-of-way grant for a solar energy project before pivoting to data center development.
The developer, Townsite Solar 2, LLC, an affiliate of Skylar Energy Resources, initially obtained a BLM right-of-way grant in September 2023 to construct and operate a solar power project on public lands. However, in January 2026, the company applied to amend the grant, changing its purpose from solar energy to the construction, operation, maintenance, and eventual decommissioning of a data center facility, a battery energy storage system (BESS), and related infrastructure.
According to BLM documents, the amended right-of-way grant covers approximately 85 acres of public land in Clark County, Nevada, with the expiration date set for December 31, 2053. The developer has already paid off-site mitigation fees totaling $90,695, as required by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and has established a cost reimbursement agreement with the BLM to cover processing and monitoring costs.
The shift from a solar project to a data center reflects broader trends in the industry, as demand for large-scale computing infrastructure continues to surge. Data centers require significant amounts of energy and land, making areas with available federal land and existing energy infrastructure attractive for development. However, the withdrawal from Boulder City suggests that local regulatory or community pressures may have influenced the decision to relocate.
Before construction can begin, the developer must meet several conditions set by the BLM, including the submission and acceptance of a reclamation cost estimate, a reclamation bond, and multiple resource management plans. These include plans for bird and bat conservation, cultural resources, dust abatement, decommissioning, fire management, and stormwater pollution prevention, among others. A formal Notice-to-Proceed must also be issued by the BLM before any ground-disturbing activities can commence.
The transition from a renewable energy project to a data center underscores the evolving priorities of energy and technology companies, as well as the flexibility of federal land use policies. It also highlights the growing competition for land in the southwestern United States, where solar farms and data centers often vie for the same parcels of public land.
Source: 8newsnow