What Nevada’s Democratic Candidate for Governor Would Do About Data Centers

This week’s conversation is with Nevada attorney general Aaron Ford, the Democratic candidate for governor in the state. His campaign reached out recently asking if I wanted to chat about what he’d want to do on data center and energy policy, which is essentially catnip for a reporter like me. So we hopped on the phone and chatted about his approach to regulation as he seeks to oust the sitting GOP governor Joe Lombardo.

The following conversation was lightly edited and abridged for clarity.

As someone running for statewide office, how do you take into consideration the growing backlash to industrial development? Not just data center development but solar and wind?

I think it's the responsible thing to do and it’s the responsive thing to do to engage in conversation around this issue, understand what people think about it, and try to come up with policies to demonstrate your willingness to accommodate those issues. I’ve been on two statewide tours in the last nine, 10 months all over the state talking to folks. The first time I recall having a conversation about this was at the end of my first statewide tour at the end of last year in a rural county, complaining about a data center coming to a different part of that rural county.

It’s across demographics. Democrats, Republicans, Independents – they’re having concerns about these data centers. They’re swarming into Nevada communities, draining our water, jacking up our energy prices, and using Nevada taxpayer money to do it. So folks have asked for thoughtful consideration on how to do this.

How do you distinguish between the concerns about data centers and the concerns about renewable energy, transmission, maybe even conventional energy sources? Do you separate those conversations or are they all just one big conversation to have?

They’re not mutually exclusive. There are sure to be distinct conversations to be had.

What I have said in my plan is that we’re going to stop the [tax] abatement for future data centers coming here until I can audit the efficacy of these other data centers who’ve received abatements. Joe Lombardo has given out $200 million in abatements and he hasn’t checked to see that they’ve fulfilled their end of the bargain in terms of local hires, their impacts on the environment, and so forth.

What I’m going to do is ensure that [if] they're going to operate here, they’ll have to bring not just their own energy but renewable energy to power their facilities.

If elected, you’d be representing a state that has principal interest in front of the federal government. I’ve been writing about data center development on federal lands including the situation in Boulder City. How do you view engaging with the Trump administration on data center development?

At the outset, what we see happening right now outside of Boulder City is an affront to local control. It’s an affront to a local government and its residents voicing their opposition to a data center and the federal government shouldn’t be able to do an end run around zoning and environmental protections. I’m going to stand up for our sovereignty in that regard. I’ve said time and again that anyone who is serious about improving the lives of Nevadans, this is contrary to that. They are ignoring the will of Nevadans.

When it comes to the situation in Boulder City, what do you think should happen there?

I think the federal government shouldn’t be able to come in and authorize the approval of a data center when the initial authorization was for a solar project. There are two different environmental protection measures that need to be implemented in that regard.

An end run around protections with no notice and opportunity to be heard is tantamount to a coup in this arena. It’s not something that I countenance. I know what I stand for. Certainly I wouldn’t stand by quietly and not do anything.

Walk me through what you want to get done on this topic should you win? What do you want to see the state legislature do?

We’re going to stop the tax abatements, these giveaways to these companies. We need to ensure they’ve lived up to their obligations.

When I’m governor they’re going to have to bring their own clean energy and bring their own water. We live in the desert. We’re going to end evaporative cooling throughout the state.

I’m not new at this. My tenure in public service has been defined by holding public companies accountable. I’ve held them all accountable and I’m going to do the same for data centers should I be elected governor.

My last question for you is about the future. Most conversations happening about data center development are focused on the short term. But five, ten years down the road, where do you think we’re going to end up on this issue?

That’s the real question. Eleven years ago, we had no idea we’d be here. ChatGPT didn’t exist when data centers were first discussed. They were places where the cloud was being held.

So look, we need to have conversations with companies. We need to stay at the forefront of development.We need to stay in conversation with companies to understand where it's going and make sure we’re passing governmental policies that will accommodate the needs of Nevadans. While we can’t predict where we’ll be in five years, we know it won’t look like this today.

We need to be nimble. We need to be responsive. We need to be reactive. Proactive, when we can. All of it at the exact same time.