Developer pulls out of hyperscale data center, natural gas plant proposed on BLM land in Henderson

A Texas‑based developer has withdrawn its application for a 1,000‑megawatt hyperscale data center on Bureau of Land Management land near Henderson, saying it consulted with the city and the BLM and decided to retreat “due to the city planned municipality improvement efforts in same area.” The proposal, outlined in a November filing, would have situated the facility a few miles from a master‑planned community at the base of the McCollough Mountains and adjacent to the Paradise Hills area of Henderson. According to the project description obtained by the Sierra Club and shared with the Las Vegas Review‑Journal, the center could rank among Nevada’s most energy‑intensive data facilities. NV Energy estimates that its output would be sufficient to power between 700,000 and 1 million homes. The developer projected a capital requirement of $1.5 million to $2 million, to be raised through “investment capital, tax equity and debt capital.” It argued that the site’s proximity to existing development would keep “additional environmental impacts are expected to be minimal.” Skylar Capital Opportunities, the firm behind the contested Boulder City data center project on federal land, remains involved in a separate proposal that has been placed on hold by an administrative judge while city officials and environmental groups pursue an appeal. That Boulder City effort could become the first data center constructed on BLM property nationwide. This week the BLM, which had sought to rely on the environmental review of Townsite Solar 2 for its own data‑center proposal, asked a judge whether it may pursue further review of the Boulder City application. Natural‑gas plants, while emitting less carbon dioxide than coal or oil, remain fossil fuels and are not classified as renewable energy. State regulators this month approved two temporary gas plants in northern Nevada to supply power to Fleet data centers. Nevada law obliges utilities to obtain half of their electricity from renewable sources by 2030; NV Energy has acknowledged that rising data‑center demand will make that target difficult to achieve. This is simply a processing story. Check back for updates.