Bitcoin mining firm Boxminer is pursuing the construction of a 20MW data center in La Pine, Oregon.
The company has proposed building the facility in the city’s industrial area on Reed Road, according to La Pine City Council meeting minutes. Boxminer representative Jeff Keller presented the project to councilors in March, describing it as a 20MW data center that would use a closed-loop cooling system that would neither consume nor discharge water.
However, the project has drawn local opposition. Central Oregon Daily reported that hundreds of residents were present at La Pine City Hall to vocalize concerns about the potential environmental impact of the data center.
City documents show the La Pine City Council voted unanimously on March 25 to instruct city staff to move forward with the purchase and sale process for the proposed industrial site. However, city officials also stressed that the vote was non-binding and did not constitute approval for a land sale or for the project itself.
The city said Deschutes County would also have to sign off on the project as the land in question is county-owned. Any prospective developer would then still need to go through land-use review with the city, as well as building review with the county, before construction could begin.
