Data center siting snapshot: Washoe County, Nevada

Line miles are measured from the archived HIFLD Transmission Lines layer inside the Census county boundary. Mapped lines are not available capacity.

What the public record shows

The archived HIFLD map indicates approximately 240.9 miles of 230 kV-and-above transmission line within Washoe County, comprising 142.8 miles at 500 kV or more and 98.1 miles at 345 kV ^[1]. An additional 157.1 miles of 115–161 kV line is mapped in the area ^[2]. Sierra Pacific Power and Bonneville Power Administration hold the most mapped 115 kV+ line miles as owners of record ^[3]. One named line endpoint touching 230 kV+ lines is mapped inside the county ^[4]. Retail electric utilities with mapped service territory covering part of the county include Sierra Pacific Power and Surprise Valley Electrification, though these boundaries are approximate ^[5].

As of 2026-11-09, records show no county- or city-level data center moratorium or ordinance for Washoe County ^[6]. At the state level, AB458 was enacted on 2025-06-06 to exclude certain data center on-premises electric service equipment from the public utility definition ^[7]. SB69, also enacted on 2025-06-06, requires defray agreements and adds local notice steps for certain projects ^[8]. AB509 was enacted on 2025-05-30, including data center language in utility service definitions ^[9]. Conversely, AB226 was vetoed on 2025-06-10, SB403 failed on 2025-06-03, and AB77 failed on 2025-04-12 ^[10][11][12].

Drafted by our local model from the numbered facts below, then checked sentence by sentence by a second model and a rules-based check.

Data center rules on record

Rule records come from The MW Desk legislation tracker, which includes rows from the Moratorium Nation dataset by Michael J. Bommarito (CC BY 4.0). Statuses change; confirm with the jurisdiction's own record.

Utilities on record

Sierra Pacific Power, Surprise Valley Electrification. (HIFLD/EIA-861 territory polygons; approximate and often overlapping.)

Market context on The MW Desk: Reno / Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center, Las Vegas.

Sources

1. [1] The archived HIFLD map shows about 240.9 miles of 230 kV-and-above transmission line inside Washoe County, NV: 142.8 miles at 500 kV or more, 98.1 miles at 345 kV and 0.0 miles at 230 kV. Source: HIFLD Transmission Lines (archived by SeerAI, CC BY 4.0)
2. [2] The same map shows about 157.1 miles of 115–161 kV line in the county. Source: HIFLD Transmission Lines (archived by SeerAI, CC BY 4.0)
3. [3] Owners of record with the most mapped 115 kV+ line miles in the county: Sierra Pacific Power, Bonneville Power Administration. Source: HIFLD Transmission Lines (archived by SeerAI, CC BY 4.0)
4. [4] 1 named line endpoints touching 230 kV+ lines (usually substations or switchyards) are mapped inside the county. Source: HIFLD Transmission Lines (archived by SeerAI, CC BY 4.0)
5. [5] Retail electric utilities whose mapped service territory covers part of the county include: Sierra Pacific Power, Surprise Valley Electrification. Territory boundaries are approximate. Source: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (EIA-861 based; archived by SeerAI, CC BY 4.0)
6. [6] Our records hold no county- or city-level data center moratorium or ordinance for Washoe County as of 2026-11-09. Source: The MW Desk legislation tracker
7. [7] Nevada state/utility level, Nevada: AB458 (83rd, 2025) (Amends NRS 704.021 to exclude certain data center on-premises electric service equipment from the definition of a public utility). Status: enacted, dated 2025-06-06. Source: AB458 (83rd, 2025) Overview - Nevada Electronic Legislative Information System (NELIS)
8. [8] Nevada state/utility level, Nevada: SB69 (83rd, 2025) (Requires defray agreements with local governments for certain projects in economic diversification districts, adds local notice steps, and revises audits for recipients of data center partial abatements). Status: enacted, dated 2025-06-06. Source: SB69 (83rd, 2025) Overview - Nevada Electronic Legislative Information System (NELIS)
9. [9] Nevada state/utility level, Nevada: AB509 (83rd, 2025) (Broadband and right-of-way bill with data center language in utility service definitions tied to NRS 360.754). Status: enacted, dated 2025-05-30. Source: AB509 (83rd, 2025) Overview - Nevada Electronic Legislative Information System (NELIS)
10. [10] Nevada state/utility level, Nevada: AB226 (83rd, 2025) (Would require certain tax credit or abatement applicants to include community collaboration and community benefits planning; the bill text amends data center abatement provisions in NRS 360.754). Status: vetoed, dated 2025-06-10. Source: AB226 (83rd, 2025) Overview - Nevada Electronic Legislative Information System (NELIS)
11. [11] Nevada state/utility level, Nevada: SB403 (83rd, 2025) (Education and economic-development bill authorizing workforce-learning plan requirements in certain tax-credit and abatement agreements, including provisions touching data center abatement statutes). Status: failed, dated 2025-06-03. Source: SB403 (83rd, 2025) Overview - Nevada Electronic Legislative Information System (NELIS)
12. [12] Nevada state/utility level, Nevada: AB77 (83rd, 2025) (Would revise partial-abatement criteria under NRS 360.754 for new or expanded data centers and related colocated businesses). Status: failed, dated 2025-04-12. Source: AB77 (83rd, 2025) Overview - Nevada Electronic Legislative Information System (NELIS)