The Trump Administration is proposing 12 data center projects on public lands throughout six western states, including Utah, Arizona, Idaho and Nevada.
The Bureau of Land Management is reviewing proposals for data center-related construction, covering over 17,000 acres across those six states.
“If there are places where communities think it is appropriate to build data centers, focus on those,” Aaron Weiss, director of the conservation group Center for Western Priorities, told The Washington Sun. “The Trump administration needs to stop cutting the public out of public land management. The solution is more public notice and more opportunities for stakeholders to shape projects on the front end.”
The largest proposal is planned to be located near Green River, Utah, by Valar Atomics, a small nuclear power company. The project is estimated to be 10,200 acres and co-located with other small nuclear reactors in the area.
Valar Atomics also has a second proposal for Utah called the “Raceway Gigasite,” but its size and location are currently unknown.
“It’s really, really hard to find information about this stuff, and I think it’s representative of the way the industry in general is operating with a lack of transparency that I think is really deeply concerning,” said executive director of environmental advocacy group HEAL Utah, Lexi Tuddenham. “Both the AI industry and the nuclear industry, which seem to be in this unholy alliance right now.”
The Trump administration is pushing for the implementation of more data centers nationwide. However, there has been backlash from government officials, citizens and conservation groups.
On July 23, U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib introduced a bill that would prohibit the construction of data centers on public lands, including military bases. It would also require existing centers on public land to be removed.
In June 2026, the BLM approved a project in Nevada that covers 88.5 acres of land near the existing Townsite Solar 1 project. It was halted, however, after the developers tried to use an earlier environmental study for a solar array at the same time.
“A lot of elected officials in Nevada on both sides of the aisle are really hesitant to approve data centers in their local jurisdiction,” said Nevada’s Sierra Club Chapter Director Olivia Tanager. “I would imagine in some cases, despite the environmental review being heightened in a lot of instances being sited on federal public land, there’s more political will to move those projects forward.”
The BLM mission is to “sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future.” Due to the recent cuts to BLM funding, the Trump administration is emphasizing that the agency should refocus its efforts on aiding in data center projects.
Author: Lainey Porter
Photo: Courtesy of the BLM
Editor: Charlee Steed
outdoors@suunews.net