BLM approved a data center on public land by reusing a solar project's review
Also named
No one else is named.
01 · What happened
On June 26, 2026 the Bureau of Land Management approved the 88.5-acre 'Townsite Data Center' in Boulder City, Nevada's Eldorado Valley, described as the first data center approved on US public land (Wildlife Society). The approval transferred an existing solar-project approval to a data center without a fresh NEPA environmental review (Electrek), on desert tortoise habitat. Conservation groups have filed legal challenges (Newsweek).
02 · Sources · 3
Newsweek
Reports the approval and the subsequent legal challenge from national news desk.
Electrek
Independent tech/energy outlet reporting on the solar-to-data-center regulatory swap with original detail.
The Wildlife Society
Professional wildlife-science trade publication corroborating the desert tortoise habitat impact independently.
03 · Response
Bureau of Land Management
Not yet contacted for this story.
Trump administration
Not yet contacted for this story.
04 · What happened next · 1
Sep 1, 2026Progress
On 1 September 2026 the Interior Board of Land Appeals granted a stay pausing construction of the Townsite data center near Boulder City, Nevada, while an expedited appeal by conservation groups proceeds before the board. Source ↗