Citadel Campus

Switch · Tahoe Reno Industrial Center, Nevada

Save this place +Compare with other sites ↗

The resource footprint

Modelled average

In one day, this campus consumes about

1.7750-metre swimming pools

Filled with the volume of water consumed by the campus and its electricity supply.

The actual estimate1,171,833 US gallons consumed

50-metre pools · 2 metres deep

Each diagram = 1 pool. Partial shading shows the remainder.

At the campus48,997 galMaking its electricity1,122,837 gal

Power-plant water may come from a different watershed. This is a volume comparison, not a claim that households lose this water.

At current operating capacity · Annual model spread evenly over time, not a live meter. Site estimates may differ by roughly ±40%.

Comparison sizes & sources

One pool = 50 × 25 × 2 metres = 2.5 million litres (about 660,430 US gallons). Pool depths vary; this is a defined comparison size.

One home-year = 10,791 kWh, the EIA’s 2022 average US residential electricity purchases. This excludes electricity generated at home and is a fixed US benchmark for all sites.

One car-year = 4.6 tonnes CO₂, the EPA’s typical passenger vehicle tailpipe estimate. The campus model is in CO₂e; the comparison expresses approximate climate scale, not equal mixtures of pollutants.

Monthly values are annual totals ÷ 12; daily values are annual totals ÷ 365. Actual demand varies. Comparisons cover the whole campus, including non-AI uses.

Water: see the numbers and sources

This is water used up, mainly through evaporation. Power-generation water may be used in a different watershed.

Total water use428M gal/yr

Evaporated on site17.9M gal

Making the power410M gal

Household comparison5,346homes, at 80,000 gal/year

Pressure on local water: Extremely High — a regional measure of demand compared with available water
Where the water comes from: Closed loop — negligible draw
Cooling: Switch's own waterless hybrid design
Basis: Fitted to a published figure of 18.0 million gallons a year

Air: see the numbers and sources

The totals include nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide and fine particles. They cover both this site and the power plants supplying it.

Nitrogen oxides409t/yr

Sulphur dioxide423t/yr

Fine particulates49.4t PM2.5

Health (EPA)$48.4M/yr

Health range: $17.1–48.4 million a year. Lower bound is EASIUR national mid-range; upper is EPA benefit-per-ton at a ~$12M VSL.
Statistical deaths: 4.03 a year at that VSL — a national-average conversion from tons, not a local concentration study.
Equals: 511,255 cars of NOx
Where it burns: WECC Rockies — Utah / Nevada
Generation mix: Gas 42 · Coal 34 · Solar 12 · Geo 5
Diesel backup: Diesel backup is not yet counted for this campus, so on-site air figures are a floor.
CO₂e: 652 kt/yr — climate, not air quality

The project, approvals and community concerns

Who asked for it: Mixed colocation tenants — no single anchor disclosed
Who approved it: Storey County TRIC master plan; NV Energy green-tariff supply from dedicated solar
What it serves: Colocation for enterprise, government and AI tenants
IT capacity: 200 MW current capacity / 650 MW full-build scenario

Marketed as the largest colocation campus in the world and built essentially waterless in the high desert, on a dedicated solar tariff. A useful upper bound on how low a big site's water and carbon can go when siting is deliberate.

water-stressed basin

Keep this guide handy

39.5300°, -119.4400°

Google Maps See it on the map Save to my watchlist

Quote or share these estimates

Gigawatt Ledger (2026). Citadel Campus: water and air. https://gigawatt-ledger.pages.dev/site/citadel/. Modelled from disclosed capacity; site-level error ±40%.

Include the estimate’s date, whether it describes current or proposed capacity, and its uncertainty. Get an embeddable card.

Gigawatt Ledger · September 2026. Water and air figures are estimated from public records and disclosed capacity. How we calculate them · Use this in your community.