Bitcoin mining firm Boxminer is seeking to build a 20-megawatt data center in La Pine, Oregon, a proposal that has already ignited significant community pushback despite receiving a preliminary nod from the city council to advance discussions.

The Proposal

Boxminer representative Jeff Keller presented the project to La Pine City Council members in March, describing plans to construct the facility on Reed Road in the city's industrial area.

The proposed data center would operate at 20MW and would rely on a closed-loop cooling system designed to neither consume nor discharge water, according to La Pine City Council meeting minutes.

Keller told council members that Midstate Electric had assured Boxminer the utility could supply the required 20MW of power, though meeting minutes noted that Midstate may need to consult the Bonneville Power Administration and the federal government to facilitate that arrangement.

During the meeting, discussion also arose around potential future expansion, including the possibility of scaling the facility to 100MW, though Keller acknowledged there was uncertainty over whether Midstate could support a load of that magnitude.

Boxminer describes itself as a Bitcoin mining and powered-land development company involved in mining Bitcoin, developing sites, and selling mining containers and mining machines.

The company says it has experience in powered land development across multiple US states, including Oregon, Washington, Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Georgia, Missouri, and the Carolinas, as well as Iceland.

Council Vote and Process Ahead

On March 25, the La Pine City Council voted unanimously to instruct city staff to move forward with the purchase and sale process for the proposed industrial site. City officials were careful to stress, however, that the vote was non-binding and did not constitute approval for a land sale or for the project itself. The path to construction remains long.

The city noted that Deschutes County would also need to sign off on the project, as the land in question is county-owned.

Any prospective developer would then still be required to complete a land-use review with the city and a building review with the county before any construction could begin.

La Pine City Manager Geoff Wullschlager said during the March 25 meeting that city staff had reviewed a range of potential financial and social impacts associated with the project.

Those included monthly power payments to Midstate Electric, possible franchise fee revenue for the city, potential full-time job creation, a proposed La Pine High School internship program, and property tax revenue.

Wullschlager also flagged outstanding questions around traffic, environmental noise, water and sewer resources, and whether the final use of the site would remain consistent with what had been proposed.

Community Opposition

The project has drawn a substantial and vocal local response. Central Oregon Daily reported that hundreds of residents turned up at La Pine City Hall to voice concerns about the potential environmental impact of the data center.

The scale of attendance underscores the degree to which the proposal has resonated as a flashpoint for community anxiety around industrial development in the area.

The concerns raised by residents reflect broader patterns seen across the United States as cryptocurrency mining operations have sought to establish facilities in smaller communities, where questions about noise, power consumption, water use, and land use compatibility have frequently generated friction between developers and local populations.

About Boxminer

Boxminer positions itself as a company operating at the intersection of Bitcoin mining and land development, with activities spanning site development, the sale of mining hardware, and the operation of mining infrastructure.

The company claims a footprint spanning numerous US states and extending internationally to Iceland, suggesting a level of operational experience across varied regulatory and infrastructure environments.

The La Pine proposal represents one of the more publicly contested of the company's projects to date, with the combination of a small city's deliberative process and a large and engaged local population creating a level of scrutiny that will likely shape how the project proceeds through the remaining stages of review.