RENO, Nev. — Reno’s decision to pause new data center approvals has intensified questions about how much water and power the facilities could require — and which agencies actually have the authority to decide whether more can be built.
Data centers are large facilities that house computer servers and related equipment that support internet services, cloud computing and artificial intelligence. Centra, the company building a data center off Keystone Avenue, describes its facilities as “engineered from day one to support modern digital services and AI workloads.”
As the region weighs what rules should apply to future projects, the Truckee Meadows Regional Planning Agency is studying how data centers could affect Northern Nevada. Jeremey Smith, the agency’s director of regional planning, said the agency’s role is not to approve or deny projects, but to provide research and recommendations…