• Project proposed to have nine Siemens turbines
• Switch acquired the former biofuels property for more than USD 55m after a bankruptcy bidding war with Tract
• Neither Switch nor project counsel clarified who is developing the plant

Nexus Fulcrum LLC has applied to Nevada regulators to build a 510 MW natural gas-fired power plant at the former Fulcrum BioEnergy refinery site near Reno, property that data center developer Switch acquired out of bankruptcy in 2024.

The June 17 application to the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada (PUCN) calls for the ASR-IX project to be built within the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center in Storey County, on roughly 20 acres of the previously disturbed refinery site. The plant would serve a single offtaker within the industrial park and is intended to support expanded development there, including data centers.

Plans call for six Siemens SGT-800 natural gas turbines rated at 57 MW each and three Siemens SGT-800 B4 turbines rated at 56 MW each. The units would operate in simple-cycle mode and use selective catalytic reduction systems to control emissions. The project also includes a roughly 3,735-horsepower diesel emergency generator, a 373-horsepower diesel fire pump, transformers and electric-powered natural gas compressors.

Natural gas would be supplied through a new lateral connecting to the Great Basin Pipeline system. Water and wastewater services would come from the Tahoe Reno Industrial General Improvement District.

Construction is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2027 and finish in the fourth quarter of 2029, followed by testing and commissioning. The application estimates roughly 250 construction jobs at peak.

NPM previously reported that Switch acquired the former Fulcrum BioEnergy refinery and related infrastructure through a bankruptcy auction after a bidding war with rival data center developer Tract. Switch entered as stalking-horse bidder at USD 15m before ultimately winning the property for more than USD 55m after Tract pushed bidding above USD 50m.

The acquisition included existing high-voltage distribution and water agreements, infrastructure that made the former biofuels property attractive for data center redevelopment.

Switch and Linda Bullen, the attorney representing Nexus Fulcrum in the regulatory filing, did not respond to requests for comment, including questions about whether Switch itself is developing the gas plant or whether Nexus Fulcrum represents a third-party power developer.

Switch, which is backed by IFM Investors and DigitalBridge, says all of its data centers have been powered by 100% renewable energy since January 2016 and continues to market its North American portfolio around renewable-energy use.