Built for Hoover Dam, this Nevada town is now fighting an AI data center

A proposed AI data center has pulled Boulder City, Nevada, into the growing fight over artificial intelligence infrastructure. The federal government created the town in 1931 for workers connected to the Hoover Dam.

Las Vegas Weekly reported that residents are resisting the project with protests, hand-painted yard signs, and a petition that has drawn thousands of signatures. 

What happened?

Townsite Solar 2 LLC, a Texas-based company, introduced the proposal in January, seeking to build a data center on 88.5 acres of city-owned land near Interstate 11. Developers said it could bring in $3.6 million for Boulder City in the first year and eventually be worth up to $4 billion.

Opposition formed quickly online and at public events. Resident Brynn deLorimier's Change.org petition has attracted more than 6,200 signatures, and critics have crowded meetings while posting hand-painted signs across town.

After a roughly three-hour Planning Commission hearing on May 20, the commission voted 6-1 against recommending the first step in the land-use process. More than 50 people spoke or called in, and only three supported the project, though the City Council could still take up the proposal as soon as July.

Developers tried to address concerns about water use, saying the facility would operate with a "100% air-cooled, closed-loop system," according to the Weekly. Project manager Rick Lammers said the center would require only "a one-time fill of 400,000 gallons."

Why does it matter?

Data centers are a major part of the AI boom, supporting chatbots, cloud computing, and digital storage. Those benefits can come with significant tradeoffs. Nevada already has more than 60 operating data centers, and, as the Weekly reported, citing a 2026 Desert Research Institute study, they use nearly a quarter of the state's electricity — a figure projected to more than double by 2033.

Google's 2025 environmental report said the company's Henderson data center used at least 205 million gallons of water in 2024.

Reno has extended its moratorium on new data center approvals through August 2027, and officials in Nye County have been urged to consider similar restrictions.

What are people saying?

For many opponents, the fight is also about protecting Boulder City's identity.

"We're a historic town at our heart and soul," deLorimier said, according to the Weekly.

"The feeling is that they seem to think that if we just understood it, we would love this," resident Kendra Dyson said after attending multiple meetings, "And that's just not the case at all."

At the hearing, Commissioner Matt DiTeresa sharply challenged the developer's claims about water use, asking, "If you're putting out misinformation like this, how can I trust anything else you people say?"

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