As Nebraska grapples with the rapid expansion of data centers, a recent town hall in North Omaha highlighted the community’s concerns and legislative responses. The event, held at Nelson Mandela Elementary School, was led by State Senators Terrell McKinney and Ashlei Spivey, who have been at the forefront of introducing regulatory measures for data centers.
Senators McKinney and Spivey, alongside Senator Machaela Cavanaugh, sponsored a legislative bill aimed at increasing transparency around data centers. Portions of this initiative were successfully incorporated into LB1010, mandating annual disclosures on power and water consumption, as well as ownership details. Highlighting the bipartisan nature of this legislative effort, Spivey remarked, “Having this passed in a package showed a lot of bipartisan work.”
The legislative push was significantly influenced by Bold Nebraska, an advocacy group with interests in clean energy and property rights. Jane Kleeb, founder of Bold Nebraska and chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party, noted a lack of regulatory frameworks before the bill’s passage. “If one is coming into the community, we wanted to make sure that there were some basic transparency things in place,” Kleeb explained.
Interest in data center regulations has intensified, especially after the Flatwater Free Press reported that Google is considering a Nebraska data center with power demands exceeding those of Lincoln at peak summer usage.
In parallel, the Nebraska Legislature approved LB1261, a bill enabling private entities to construct and manage power plants for large industrial consumers, such as data centers. This initiative, stemming from the governor’s office, was praised by Gov. Jim Pillen as a strategic move to attract significant investments while maintaining the state’s public power model. “Our state is once again taking a bold and strategic step – one that will create an environment that attracts business and multibillion dollar investment, while legally preserving Nebraska’s unique and consumer-friendly public power model,” Pillen stated.
However, not everyone agrees with this direction. At the town hall, McKinney referred to LB1261 as the “bogeyman bill,” expressing concerns about its implications. “It’s a bill that the governor pushed through the legislature to allow for data centers to create their own power,” McKinney stated. “It’s a bill that I stood on the floor and said this is going to harm our communities.”
