Federal Lands Draw Data-Center Proposals Across Six States

At least 35 data center-related applications covering more than 24,000 acres of U.S. federal land remain pending or active across six Western states, according to an analysis by the conservation group Center for Western Priorities. The applications include campuses and the infrastructure needed to serve them. The figures point to growing industry interest in placing AI infrastructure on federal land as the Trump administration seeks to open public lands to a broader range of industrial uses.

What the applications cover

Bureau of Land Management records list at least 17 proposed data center campuses in Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming, the study said. The 35-application total also includes related infrastructure projects, so it doesn’t mean 35 campuses. The article calls the applications pending or active; it doesn’t say that officials have approved or built the proposed campuses or infrastructure.

The records also show at least 13 related infrastructure projects. They include transmission lines, pipelines, telecommunications facilities and access roads. Those projects support proposed data center development, alongside the campuses themselves. The analysis covers more than 24,000 acres of federal land across the six states, but it doesn’t break down acreage by state or individual project.

Federal land and industrial policy

The applications concern U.S. federal land and fall within a federal land-use process. The report links the industry interest to the Trump administration’s effort to make public lands available for a broader range of industrial uses, including energy, mining and technology projects. It doesn’t identify applications the administration has supported or say whether any individual project has received approval.

The proposals could mark an expansion of technology-related development on public land, but the reported figures describe applications, not completed projects. The analysis identifies data center campuses and associated infrastructure; it doesn’t estimate expected energy or water use, describe effects on nearby communities, or project changes to land access. Nor does it provide demographic data or findings about effects on the native population. The application count alone can’t establish those impacts.

Developers and unanswered questions

A map of planned projects includes several infrastructure applications tied to a Prometheus Hyperscale facility in Wyoming. It also identifies projects by developer Copia Power in Arizona, Nevada and Idaho, among others. The report gives no further details about the developers’ financing, the expected benefits of individual projects, or the terms under which any land might be used.

BLM officials didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The article offers no agency response on the applications, their status, or how federal officials will assess them. For now, the Center for Western Priorities’ record sets out the scale of the pending or active proposals: at least 35 applications, more than 24,000 acres, six Western states, and projects spanning campuses and essential infrastructure. It doesn’t establish that the proposals will proceed or what their eventual costs and benefits will be.