Nevada data center growth drives approval of temporary gas plants

The Public Utilities Commission of Nevada has approved two temporary natural gas plants to power two data centers in northern Nevada.

The PUC on Sept. 17 approved Fleet Data Centers’ applications for two temporary, natural gas-fueled power plants for two data centers in northern Nevada.

Fleet is a subsidiary of Tract Capital, a Denver-based digital infrastructure company, who filed applications for the natural gas-powered generating plants in April for its South Valley and Peru Ridge data centers.

“This temporary power system is required because data center growth is outpacing NV Energy’s ability to supply power in new areas,” Fleet said in its application.

The company said growth in the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center is outpacing the speed at which NV Energy can build permanent infrastructure for large loads such as data centers.

Tract Capital said in a statement to the Review-Journal that it appreciates the commission’s decision and careful review of its applications. According to Tract, the plants will come at no cost to Nevada residents and provide economic benefits to Storey County.

“We appreciate the Commission and its staff for their consideration and look forward to continuing to work with state and local stakeholders as Fleet continues to invest in Northern Nevada,” said Tract in the statement.

NV Energy didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The TRIC is a 107,000-acre industrial park larger than the size of Detroit located in northern Nevada’s Storey County. The majority of the estimated 70 planned data centers in Nevada from Nevada Legislative Counsel Bureau are clustered in the area.

In its recent Integrated Resource Plan filing, which provides a roadmap of load growth for the next approximately 20 years, NV Energy said data centers will drive a dramatic shift in Nevada’s energy landscape, growing from 5 percent of electricity sales today to 64 percent by 2046.

NV Energy’s existing and approved systemwide generating capacity through 2050 is roughly 10 gigawatts. If projected data center demand materializes, the systemwide generating capacity needed to serve projected demand could exceed 20 gigawatts by 2050.

Planned northern Nevada power plants

The South Valley power plant will be on 37.4 acres at 8990 USA Parkway in Sparks with a 144 megawatt generating capacity. The Peru Ridge generating plant will be located on 23.4 acres in the TRIC near Peru Drive in Reno with a 218 MW generating capacity.

Both of them will be used to power the associated South Valley and Peru Ridge data centers in northern Nevada, totalling over 2,000 acres and 1,445 MW. The power plants are slated to start construction in early 2027, take around six months to erect and be operational for two to three years. Both will be located on previously disturbed land, already graded for the associated data centers.

PUC Commissioner Randy Brown said “no permit will be issued without proper state agency oversight.” Multiple permits, including a Storey County building permit and air permit, must be obtained before construction can start.

The approval did not come without pushback. There was around two hours of public comment during the meeting expressing criticism on the power plants.

In public comment, Elizabeth Bree Kasper called the proposed natural gas power plants “destructive” to northern Nevada’s air quality, water resources and “climate future.”

“Calling these massive natural gas facilities ‘temporary’ is a bureaucratic fiction,” said Kasper. “You cannot build hundreds of megawatts of fossil fuel infrastructure without permanent destructive impacts.”

Mary Levinson, a retired chemical engineer and physician, said she believes the commission “does not value the environment nearly as much as it values development.

“The commission concludes that ‘the need for the facility balances any adverse effect on the environment,’” said Levinson, reading from a PUC filing. “But who really needs this facility? Certainly not Nevadans.”

Tract Capital is a major data center player in the state. In February, its South Valley data center was granted $23.35 million in tax abatements. It is anticipated to create 14 jobs with an hourly wage of $54.29 within five years; make $300 million in capital equipment investment in the first five years of operation and generate $45,743,902 in new taxes over 10 years.

Bloomberg reported that the South Valley data center will be leased by major chip manufacturer Nvidia, although both companies declined to comment on the matter.

Tract Capital has five data centers “owned and in development” in northern Nevada, totalling 12,390 acres.

Contact Emerson Drewes at edrewes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @EmersonDrewes on X.