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Residents, Sierra Club and seniors group raise concerns about data centers during Washoe County meeting
Summary
During public comment at the Washoe County concurrent meeting, residents and advocacy groups urged caution on data-center approvals, citing heavy energy and water use, possible limited economic benefit from tax abatements, and public-safety concerns such as fire risk.
Speakers during the meeting's public-comment period urged the county and cities to consider stricter local policy on data-center development, citing energy and water demand, limited tax benefits and potential public-safety and planning implications.
"They're going to require a huge amount of infrastructure to be built out because the energy demand is so high," said Olivia Tanager of the Sierra Club Tahoe–Sierra chapter. She warned that state tax abatements for data centers reduce their local property and sales tax contributions and urged local governments to evaluate the economic and energy impacts before approving projects.
Kathy Folkerson, facilitator for Third Act Nevada, said one approved data center in north Reno will demand about 30 megawatts of power annually — roughly equivalent to the output of the Steamboat geothermal facility — and asserted that ratepayers may bear much of the infrastructure cost to support the facilities.
Speakers asked local officials to consider regional approaches, sustainability measures and master-plan alignment when reviewing data-center applications.
No formal action on data-center policy was taken at the meeting; the topic surfaced as public comment amid broader discussions about regional emergency management and fire response.
