SOUTH BOISE, Idaho — A massive data center proposed on federal public land south of Boise could span roughly 3,700 acres and include a 4 million-square-foot facility, according to preliminary details confirmed by the Bureau of Land Management.
Rhea Data, a subsidiary of Nevada-based Arevia Power, has submitted the proposal to BLM for a multi-building data center with 600 megawatts of data-processing capacity.
BLM emphasized that the proposal remains in its early stages and that details are preliminary and subject to change.
WATCH: What we know about a massive data center proposed on thousands of acres of public land south of Boise, and what happens next.
The project would be built on a landscape that is largely undeveloped public land.
Lisa Young, director of the Idaho chapter of the Sierra Club, said her organization opposes the proposal and has concerns about how a development of this scale could affect the land and surrounding resources.
“Obviously just on the landscape itself, we can look around here and just see how, you know, this huge, beautiful piece of our public lands that currently is so open and peaceful would be really disturbed,” Young said.
The potential environmental impacts of the project have not yet been determined. BLM would conduct an environmental review as part of the process and provide opportunities for the public to weigh in.
Young said she believes both the potential impacts and benefits of projects proposed on public lands should be carefully considered.
“No matter what projects we're looking at on public lands or elsewhere in our state, we should always be really ... looking carefully at those types of projects,” Young said. “What does this mean for the local environment, other resources that are needed, what the impact is going to be, and then ... what the benefits are going to be, and weigh those out really carefully.”
Boise Mayor Lauren McLean also weighed in on the proposal, saying in a statement that “public lands should stay in public hands.” McLean called for a statewide framework to address the impacts of large data centers before projects of this scale are considered.
Rhea Data had not responded to Idaho News 6's request for comment as of publication.
BLM anticipates issuing a Notice of Intent around the end of the year. That would begin another stage of the federal review process and provide opportunities for public input.
The proposal remains early in the process and would have to undergo environmental review and public input before any final decisions are made.
