At Least 17 BLM Land-Use Cases Appear to Involve Data Center Campuses

At least 17 Bureau of Land Management (BLM) right-of-way cases appear to involve data center campuses across six Western states, part of 35 active cases associated with more than 24,000 acres of public land.

The cases span Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming. Another 13 appear to involve supporting infrastructure, including roads, water pipelines and power lines. Public records do not provide enough detail to classify five others. Some of the campus cases appear to share locations, so 17 cases may represent fewer distinct sites.

The tally uses records refreshed Oct. 16. A separate status breakdown dated Oct. 15 counted 41 tracked cases: 29 pending, three authorized, three interim and six closed. The 35 active cases exclude the six closed cases; they are not all pending applications.

A Sept. 18 review identified roughly 12 data center and related infrastructure proposals covering at least 17,600 acres. The later search found previously missed cases, including filings without descriptive project names. Because the searches differed, the increase in the totals does not establish how many applications were newly filed between the two reviews.

A July 2025 executive order directed federal agencies to accelerate permitting for AI data center infrastructure and make suitable federal land available. It defines a qualifying data center project as a facility requiring more than 100 megawatts of new electricity load for specified AI uses. The order does not establish that any of the campus cases in the tally will proceed.

Commercial-sector electricity demand, a nationwide category that includes data centers, is forecast to rise 2.8% in 2027 from 2026. That projection does not estimate electricity use at the proposed Western sites. The filings also bring land access, water and supporting infrastructure into decisions about where campuses may be built.

Lauren Bogard, the Center for Western Priorities’ deputy director, said she wants a framework “that lets communities decide where, how, or if data centers get built.” A right-of-way filing requests permission to use public land; it does not mean a campus will be built. Developers can withdraw applications, and the BLM can deny them.