MYTH VS. FACT
MYTH: Data centers are mysterious facilities with unclear functions.
FACT: Modern data centers are engineered warehouses filled with servers that power everyday digital activity. They support streaming, texting, GPS routing, online gaming, medical imaging, airline ticketing systems, credit‑card processing, fraud detection, AI tools, and more. They operate continuously and will serve as essential infrastructure for the digital economy.
MYTH: Data centers in Southern Nevada will use evaporative cooling and drain Lake Mead.
FACT: Southern Nevada prohibits evaporative cooling for commercial and industrial facilities. Regulations require non‑evaporative systems, meaning data centers cannot use the water‑intensive cooling methods associated with older facilities. TS2’s plan does not include using evaporative cooling in its closed loop cooling system.
MYTH: Data centers consume massive amounts of water.
FACT: Today’s modern cooling technology dramatically reduced water use. Closed‑loop air-cooled, and direct‑to‑chip cooling systems operate by recirculating a coolant mixture of purified water and glycol, requiring a single initial fill purchased from the manufacturer and delivered to the data center. Potable water would be used at the TS2 facility employee kitchen and restroom areas.
MYTH: Data centers will overload Boulder City’s electrical grid.
FACT: TS2 is committed to full power self‑sufficiency. The company has committed to the White House Ratepayer Protection Pledge and would not connect to Boulder City’s electrical grid. TS2 plans to purchase wholesale power, construct its own solar + energy storage systems, and will cover all transmission and delivery costs associated with its site. TS2 intends to install utility‑scale batteries and biodiesel emergency back-up generators capable of supporting the grid when needed.
MYTH: Boulder City’s budget is sufficient to satisfy its long-term fiscal objectives. Long‑term financial outlook is already secure without new revenue sources.
FACT: The project is of strategic economic importance to Boulder City and is consistent with its current 2026-2030 financial strategic plan to diversify revenue. According to the Boulder City Finance Director, expenses will exceed revenue by approximately $14 million by FY2029. Diversifying revenue sources will be necessary for the City to maintain long term financial stability.
TS2’s solar plus storage facilities located on Boulder City land are expected to deliver over $600,000 in annual lease payments and roughly $700,000 in new annual revenue to the City each year from metering and billing, plus millions in property and sales tax revenue over the first 20 years of operation. The data center buildings and other improvements located on federal land are expected to provide additional tax revenue for the City. The additional revenue provided to the City is expected to help address the forecasted shortfall in fiscal revenue. TS2 seeks to execute a community benefit agreement with Boulder City with tax sharing revenue tied to specific local projects. TS2 would also work with City leaders to identify other areas to help support Boulder City’s long term stability.
MYTH: Residents will not directly benefit from data center leases.
FACT: Residents would benefit from job creation, including hundreds of construction jobs and dozens of high‑paying technical positions once the facility becomes operational. TS2 intends to create a Boulder City Utility Fund to help alleviate Boulder City’s proposed utility rate hikes. TS2 proposes contributing funding towards a wastewater treatment plant to clean and treat the effluent so it can be returned to Lake Mead instead of being left to evaporate in the desert.
MYTH: Data centers are noisy and generate massive amounts of heat.
FACT: Many data centers will operate near residential areas without causing disturbances. The TS2 site would be located on federal land in an industrialized area approximately three miles from the nearest homes, positioned between a mining operation and multiple energy projects. TS2’s plans include a direct‑to‑chip liquid cooling and dry cooling tower technology that would remove heat at the source and release it into the air without evaporative cooling, significantly reducing both noise and heat impacts. Even though this distance substantially mitigates any impacts, TS2 plans to design the project to meet independently verified, enforceable, technology-specific limits for noise and heat measured at the nearest sensitive receptor as well as at the site boundary.
MYTH: Data centers always create the same problems.
FACT: Data centers vary based on location, climate, water availability, and proximity to residents. Rejecting all data centers outright would remove Boulder City’s negotiating power and will increase the likelihood that similar facilities will be built just outside city limits without providing substantial benefits to residents.