A small Central Oregon town shoots down data center development in its industrial park

By JEN BAIRES/Oregon Public Broadcasting

LA PINE — La Pine officials have rejected a pitch to bring a data center to their Central Oregon city, despite estimates from a developer that it could have brought hundreds of millions of dollars in investments and hundreds of jobs.

At a packed meeting on Wednesday evening, residents spoke for hours against the proposed data center before city councilors voted to shut the project down.

The decision comes as data centers’ rapid expansion across Oregon and the U.S. have spurred similar opposition from other communities concerned about environmental impacts and economic benefits. Last year, state leaders passed legislation requiring data centers pay for the energy and transmission infrastructure needed to power them, and pay their fair share for electricity.

This week La Pine residents voiced multiple concerns over the proposed facility. They said it could potentially contaminate groundwater and release hazardous material into the air. They worried about the fragility of the power grid in rural Central Oregon and its ability to handle a 20-megawatt data center. That’s about 15 times the electricity used by households in a typical city the size of La Pine.

Opponents also said they doubted the developer’s promise of jobs and mutli-million dollar payouts to the electric company and the city.

“If we’re going to sell land to something, sell it to something that’s going to provide jobs and is going to be something that the community can grow,” said Heather Roberts who lives in La Pine. “We have brothers and sisters to the south that don’t have an affordable grocery store. We could really grow as a community and if you guys need resources or ideas, the community obviously wants to show up.”

To shouts and applause, city councilors in the city of 2,500 voted unanimously against pursuing the sale to the developer, Boxminer.io. It was a big win for project opponents, who quickly mobilized a campaign just weeks after the proposal first came before the council in March.

Keller said the project would mean millions in annual revenue for the city and Midstate Electric Cooperative, a utility that powers the area. The head of the local economic development group that brought the project to the city with Keller said the project represented an $800 million investment in La Pine. Keller estimated at that meeting that it would bring in up to 200 full-time jobs and would utilize a “closed-loop” cooling system that would minimize water use and wastewater discharge. He later lowered his employment estimate, saying the project might only bring 50 or 60 jobs.

City staff refuted many of Keller’s claims in a report presented Wednesday by City Manager Geoff Wullschlager. The report found millions of dollars in discrepancies between Keller’s estimates of revenue for the city and Midstate Electric versus the city’s own estimates.

Keller attended the standing-room-only meeting remotely to defend his company’s proposal.

“I didn’t think it was going to be this problematic to try to put in an industrial use, especially a high-end, high-tech industrial use, in an industrial park,” he said.

But many La Pine residents delivered a clear message that they would not welcome a data center.

Amy Milliken was among them. She’s part of an advocacy group opposing data centers in the region and said she was both surprised by the council’s vote and the solidarity she found among people across the political spectrum.

“It was a shock that it would be such a nonpartisan issue,” Milliken told OPB after the city council vote. “It was amazing how many people came out across party lines. It became an issue for Republicans and Democrats and non-political folks as well.”

Industry sources estimate there are 125 data centers across the state. Hillsboro, which hosts the most data centers in the state, is currently exploring its options to pause further development.

• This story originally appeared May 28, 2026 on Oregon Public Broadcasting.