In thirsty Reno, a crucial vote could usher in more water-guzzling data centers

In Southern Nevada, home to more than half of the state’s more than 60 data centers, evaporative cooling, a process that uses more water, is banned in new commercial buildings. Tanager says Reno, a growing hub for data center construction, is behind when it comes to regulating them.

Apart from concerns about water and electricity use and costs, critics say the city can’t afford to turn down new housing. By its own estimates, Reno needs an additional 15,000 housing units by 2035 to meet demand.

“I think when tech comes into small cities that are desperate for income, sometimes it looks like it’s the easy answer,” said Wendy Baroli, whose 100-acre farm on the California border is about 2 miles away from the proposed development. But “it’s really dangerous to rush through things, especially when you’re talking about finite resources.”

She remembers the days of parched ground cracking in previous droughts and worries that data centers would further strain resources.

At a July 24 hearing, Andy Durling, a representative for the developer, Heinz Ranch Land Co., defended the revised proposal, stating that it would use less water than the prior housing-heavy one.

Through a spokesperson, Heinz Ranch Land Co. declined to answer a question regarding that estimate or address the concerns raised in this article.

Thursday’s vote on the revised StoneGate project could finally decide the fate of the revised proposal. In April, the city’s planning commission rejected the plan, but a month later, Reno’s City Council approved it. Another planning body failed to advance the project in August, so the issue now goes before the Regional Planning Governing Board.

In a May City Council meeting, Durling said the shift by the Heinz Ranch Land Co. was driven by rising costs. The developers said the new plan could bring 8,800 jobs, almost triple that of the original plan. Durling described the new proposal as an opportunity for the city to compete economically with a nearby industrial park. The Tahoe–Reno Industrial Center is home to several companies now planning or building data centers, including Google.