In its July 2 meeting, the Lyon County Board of County Commissioners approved an ordinance to create the North Lyon County Power General Improvement District to provide expanded electric power. The approval led to a cascade of backlash against data center and other high utility use projects.
Multiple residents have connected the District to more widescale regional energy projects and data center developments and pressed for a delay in the approval until all the potential impacts could be assessed. They also advised reconsideration of the Greenlink Nevada Transmission Project, which will place more than 100 miles of high-voltage transmission lines across the county.
Representatives of NV Energy said Greenlink is mandated by the Nevada Legislature to improve the state’s energy system reliability.
As is happening in many areas across Nevada and the rest of the country, opposition to data center development is growing, with residents and activists expressing worries about power and water demand and availability, noise pollution, environmental impacts and other quality of life concerns.
Many residents added their signatures to a form letter requesting a delay, saying, “The ordinance lays the foundation for expansion of electrical infrastructure to support large industrial users, including data centers, but many questions remain unanswered.”
Residents who attended the meeting requested a data center approval moratorium until the County drafts specific regulations focused on data center development and land use.
Others expressed a desire to have data center approvals decided by popular vote, rather than through the County review and approval process.
The most prominent point of concern at the moment is the Monarch Data Center, which will include eight two-story buildings, an electrical substation, a 500-megawatt battery energy storage system and a 500MW natural gas backup system.
NVBEX was the first outlet to report on plans for the Monarch Data Center. (NVBEX; July 17, 2025)
Monarch’s potential energy demands are approximately equal to one million homes, and the required water could total nearly 500,000 gallons/year. Monarch estimates its annual water demand will actually be closer to 260,000 gallons.
The Lyon County Development Code does not currently have any data center-specific provisions. The Community Development Department is drafting a data center ordinance.
The Board of County Commissioners voted last month to schedule a workshop on the data center ordinance to discuss the draft regulations with the public. The presentation is scheduled in August.
Editor’s Note: NVBEX and its sister publication, AZBEX, have extensively covered the recent increase in data center restrictions. To view our previous Nevada-centric coverage, click here. Arizona has moved more quickly to apply restrictions. To view our previous Arizona-centric coverage to see what may come, click here.
The Monarch project is planned to come before the Board this week, and residents are planning to attend to express their opposition. (Source: Carson Now)
