The Boulder City City Council is slated to discuss the first data center proposed within city limits.
Townsite Solar 2 LLC, an affiliate of Skylar Capital Management, is proposing a data center development on 88.5 acres. Currently, the exact scope of the project is unclear.
According to the application, “The Applicant is owned by well-capitalized members with substantial financial resources to fully fund the development and construction of (an) institutional-grade, hyperscale/AI-ready data center campus on the approximately 88.5-acre parcel that is the subject of this Land Management process application. The same individuals have demonstrated their financial strength through the successful development and financing of the Townsite Phase 1 solar plus storage project, a 180-megawatt alternating current photovoltaic plus 90 MW/360 megawatt/hour Battery Energy Storage System project located on land owned by Boulder City.”
The Phase 1 project is owned by Arevon Energy, Inc., which is serving as a joint venture partner for the Townsite Solar 2 project.
The building will have a maximum height of 40 feet with varying parapets and mechanical screening. The exterior of the building will have non-reflective earth-tone materials and finishes that coincide with the desert landscape.
The application goes on to say, “The Data Center will be designed for ultra-low or zero liquid discharge cooling using a hybrid closed-loop system supplemented by City-treated effluent during the approximately 10 months per year it is available.”
The data center will make use of effluent instead of potable water. Estimated annual effluent consumption will not exceed 650,000 gallons/day. When the effluent is not being used to cool the system, it will rely entirely on power and require 20-25% more power than a cooling system utilizing effluent water.
Further details surrounding the scope of the data center will be unveiled later.
Voters Deciding on Future Data Centers
Boulder City residents are preparing to vote on whether data centers are to be permitted in the Eldorado Valley Transfer Area.
This comes as several cities across the nation have increased data center restrictions amid public concerns surrounding water and employment development.
Editor’s Note: AZBEX, our sister publication, has covered data center restrictions across various jurisdictions in Arizona. To view our previous coverage, click here.
Notably, Boulder City representatives have said there are other developers interested in bringing data centers to the area, but they did not identify parties.
