The county submitted a sweeping proposal to the Nevada Legislature Tuesday to shorten the length of tax incentives, impose stricter spending requirements and prohibit tax breaks for data centers located on federal land.

A key factor in the decision has to do with a shift in the controversial project's focus from 2023 to 2026.

None of the 12 counties reached by The Indy said the state engaged with them as part of the review, which caused some concerns considering the tax breaks are likely going to burden local government coffers.

Candidates expressed some different positions. Some Democrats were more open to changing laws on energy and water use, while Republicans think federal regulation should ensure that the U.S. is able to compete with China.

It's hardly a surprise to anyone who has been speaking with members of communities that already have data centers nearby or are being courted for hyperscale AI complexes. It's not just fear. It's palpable anger.

The plan is part of a new data center policy platform that Ford's campaign released Wednesday, which also calls for a statewide ban on evaporative cooling and tracking more metrics of data centers receiving tax breaks.

Lyon County commissioners voted 3-1 Thursday to approve a zoning change needed to build the massive Monarch Data Center near Yerington, clearing a hurdle for a data center development even as many other jurisdictions in the state look to pause or re-assess data center buildout. 

When Copia Power unveiled plans for the Monarch Data Center — a 4.6 million-square-foot complex spanning 505 acres in rural Lyon County — it did so without owning a single acre of the land the project would sit on. That's not unheard of.

NV Energy's poke-in-the-eye of a lawsuit against Northern Nevada artificial intelligence data center developer Tract certainly spices up what promises to be a long fight for fairness on many fronts.

Manse Technology Campus sounds practically collegiate, but it's not a university annex. As presented, it's a massive, privately funded data center complex with a 900-acre footprint.

"This is not a change in direction," said Taylor Adams, president and CEO of the organization, now called Northern NV Now, a name meant to be action-oriented and forward-thinking. "It is a clearer way to say who we have become."

Boulder City officials took steps Tuesday to challenge the use of nearby federal land for a data center project that might use more than three times as much energy as the city's existing energy load, according to one estimate.

It's little surprise by now that Gov. Joe Lombardo remains confidently on the bright side of data center development in Nevada.

The Nevada Independent will be tracking what data center-related actions local governments across the state are taking. This page will be updated as officials take more actions. 

The Clark County Commission will be discussing potential new regulations and approval criteria for data center construction in the area.

Just weeks after a developer asked state energy regulators to let it build its own temporary natural gas plant to power Northern Nevada data centers, another developer is asking regulators to approve an even larger, permanent gas plant to power additional data centers.

While Henderson is considering a moratorium, other municipalities are pushing forward on the sale and construction of new centers across Clark County.

As the AI data center gold rush in Northern Nevada expands with ever-larger hyperscale projects taking shape, SB254 is looking like a relic of a distant past.

City staff will work in the coming months to craft a proposal that encompasses suggestions from the public, outside groups council members and regional officials who have been studying the issue for more than a year.

Most of the Nevadans I've spoken with aren't railing against technology. They're concerned about the voracious energy and water consumption and the heat mitigation efforts associated with data centers.