Why It Matters
Federal land management priorities are shifting to accommodate the rapid expansion of the technology sector. The Bureau of Land Management is reviewing a wave of applications to site data centers on public lands across the West, including significant proposals in Idaho and Oregon.
This development marks a departure from traditional uses of federal acreage, which have historically focused on grazing, timber, and recreation. For Idaho communities near proposed sites, the influx of energy-intensive infrastructure could reshape local power grids and land use patterns.
What Happened
At least 12 data center projects are currently proposed for more than 17,500 acres of Bureau of Land Management land across six western states. The applications span Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming.
The surge in proposals follows an executive order issued by President Donald Trump in July 2025. The directive mandates that federally owned land be utilized for the expeditious and orderly development of data centers. This marks the first time the BLM has been ordered to include data centers in its portfolio of permitted activities.
In Oregon, a new campus is proposed for federal land near Hermiston in Umatilla County. Copia, an energy company based in California with an office in Lake Oswego, applied to site the Charlestown Data Center and Battery Energy Storage System on 106 acres of BLM land. The company submitted a draft plan for the project on May 8, 2026.
A spokesperson for Copia declined to comment on the application. If approved, this would be the first data center in Oregon sited on federal public land. Half of Oregon’s territory is owned and managed by the federal government, making BLM acreage a significant resource for industrial development.
By The Numbers
- 12: Number of data centers proposed on federal land across western states.
- 17,500: Total acres of BLM land involved in the current proposals.
- 3,200: Acres of federal land south of Boise proposed for the Rhea Data Center.
- 245 million: Public acres managed by the Bureau of Land Management nationwide.
- 1: Number of data center proposals on federal land approved to date, though that project is now on hold.
Zoom Out
Oregon ranks among the top 10 markets for data centers in the United States, according to Pew Research. Umatilla County alone contains approximately 20 percent of Oregon’s roughly 111 data facilities, based on analysis by ECOnorthwest and the University of Virginia. Other estimates place the total number of server farms in the state at more than 140.
In Idaho, Copia has proposed the Snake River Energy Data Center on BLM land in Jerome, Lincoln, and Gooding Counties. The project includes solar energy arrays, battery storage, and transmission infrastructure. It is currently undergoing an environmental review with no approved federal timeline established.
A separate proposal involves Arevia Power’s subsidiary, which seeks to build the Rhea Data Center on more than 3,200 acres of federal land south of Boise. The facility would include a natural gas power plant and connect to a utility-scale solar energy project. If constructed, it could become the largest data center in Idaho.
Nationally, only one data center proposed on federal public land has received approval so far. That project is located on 80 acres near Boulder City, Nevada. However, the development was placed on hold earlier this month after the city sued the BLM. The lawsuit cited a lack of a public comment period and alleged that the project scope was modified without a new environmental review.
What’s Next
The BLM must navigate complex environmental reviews and local legal challenges as it processes these applications. With only one prior approval—and that project currently stalled in litigation—the agency faces scrutiny over how quickly it can permit large-scale industrial use on public lands.
Proposals in Utah include two data centers, while Arizona hosts four proposals covering more than 3,000 acres. As the Trump administration pushes to hasten development, federal land managers will determine whether these projects meet regulatory standards for public land use.
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