Concerns remain about data centers

By Mike McGreer

As of September 2026, Nevada has 67 independently metered data center facilities in operation, under construction or in the planning stages. There are 32 projects in Clark County, with 23 in Story, followed by six in Washoe, four in Lyon and one each in Elko and Carson City.

Of the six, 36 are operational. Those include 24 in Clark, seven in Storey, four in Washoe and one in Carson City. The remaining 31 are under construction, planned, announced or proposed. Those include eight in Clark, 16 in Storey, two in Washoe, all four in Lyon and the one in Elko. 

Nevada’s tax abatement program permits qualified data centers to reduce sales/use tax to 2% and receive a 75% personal-property-tax abatement for 10 or 20 years. Abatements come with employment eligibility requirements, but do not guarantee employment. 

On August 19, 2026, Democrat Attorney General Aaron Ford, in his bid for Republican Governor Joe Lombardo’s seat, says he will pause new data center tax breaks as governor to ensure Nevadans get their money’s worth.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Governor Lombardo signed Executive Order 2026-005, adding additional conditions for data-center tax-abatement applications, including provisions on water, grid reliability, community benefits and protecting electricity ratepayers. However, their effectiveness depends on implementation and project-specific agreements.

The central question is not billions of dollars in investments or taxpayer abatements. It is how much of the benefit stays in Nevada, who receives it and what Nevada policymakers give up in return.

Nevada landowners may receive land-sale proceeds, and water and electric utilities may receive service payments. But those receipts do not capture the full cost of reductions to scarce water supplies available to others or the exact costs to existing customers.

Existing Nevada data centers have supply arrangements covering municipal water, local groundwater and recycled water where those sources are arguably available. But public evidence does not establish a statewide surplus sufficient for every announced campus at full buildout.

Unresolved questions remain about facility-level water commitments, groundwater sustainability, recycled-water delivery capacity and construction demand.

Mike McGreer resides in Mesquite.