The Lyon County Board of County Commissioners voted 3-1 on Aug. 6 to approve a requested rezoning that could enable the 1,000-megawatt Monarch Data Center to be built on more than 500 acres near Yerington.
The approval is just the next step. Developer Copia Power will still need to provide final designs for approval before construction can begin.
NVBEX was the first outlet to report on the proposed data center. (NVBEX; July 17, 2025)
Even as it advanced the project, Lyon County is working on rules to put stricter controls in place for data center developments. Lyon County held a workshop to discuss its first possible data center ordinance just three days before the approval vote. The new ordinance would, presumably, not apply to Monarch, since Copia Power already had its application underway. New rules, however, would govern new data center projects and major expansions of existing ones, along with conversions of existing spaces, if the ordinance is approved.
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 Board also voted last December to amend the property’s land use designation to “specific plan” as a necessary step before the rezoning request could advance. The zoning change was then recommended for approval by the Lyon County Planning Commission in July.
During the Commission meeting, members questioned representatives about issues concerning the development’s water and power usage and supply. Representatives said NV Energy’s most recent resource plan commits the power provider to supply 2,550MW to data centers in coming years. Until Monarch’s portion of that capacity is available, Copia will self-supply using its own gas plant and battery energy storage systems. (Source: The Nevada Independent)
