LINCOLN, Neb. (Flatwater Free Press) — As private energy developer Tenaska scoured southeast Nebraska for land to house a potential data center and power plant, the company found several Gage County landowners willing to sell — including a state lawmaker.
Sen. Myron Dorn, whose district includes Gage and parts of southeast Lancaster County, signed an agreement with Tenaska earlier this year, allowing the company the exclusive right and option to purchase about 80 acres of his land in Gage County.
Dorn, who is in his eighth year in the Legislature, had not publicly disclosed the potential land deal as a conflict when he was contacted by the Flatwater Free Press on Monday. On Tuesday, he filed a disclosure noting the agreement and potential conflict of interest it posed.
The filing came the same day the Nebraska Legislature began debating LB1261, a bill proposed by the Governor’s Office that would allow private developers — like Tenaska — to build and own power plants to serve a large industrial customer. It would allow those plants to hook up to the grid, opening the door for them to sell excess power back to the local public power district’s grid.
The bill, which Tenaska has publicly supported, has been closely associated with data centers.
Flatwater recently reported that Google has proposed building a massive data center in Nebraska that would be powered by a privately built natural gas plant. Tenaska would be responsible for the gas plant, which could be capable of generating more than three times the amount of electricity needed to power the city of Lincoln.
Tenaska has not responded to multiple requests for comment about whether its recent land options, including the agreement made with Dorn, could be used for this potential project.
On Monday, Dorn told Flatwater that he had not looked at the governor’s bill and was unsure if the agreement he reached with Tenaska posed a conflict of interest that would require disclosure.
“I will visit with other people,” Dorn said. “Hadn't thought of it, didn't realize the bill was out of committee and up that quick.”
Dorn said a contract company representing Tenaska approached him late last fall about the land. This was followed by conversations with representatives from Tenaska. Since December, Tenaska has optioned hundreds of acres in Gage, Lancaster, Otoe and Cass counties.
Dorn said during their conversations, representatives mentioned both data centers and a power plant and had talked about a pipeline, but they didn’t outright say the land would be used for a data center powered by a gas plant.
Dorn’s experience lines up with what other area residents told Flatwater.
Gage County board member Emily Haxby said a Tenaska representative mentioned plans to create a natural gas power plant that would serve an industrial park that could house manufacturing and/or a data center in northeast Gage County.
Rick Wheatley, a resident in nearby Otoe County, told Flatwater that a Tenaska representative mentioned the company was trying to put together 2,000 acres near a gas pipeline for a power plant that could serve an AI center.
However, if Tenaska wants to power a data center and hook its power plant up to the grid, the company needs LB1261 to pass.
Scott Danigole, executive director of the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission, said that if passing LB1261 would increase the likelihood of the sale, Dorn should file a conflict of interest form with both the NADC and the speaker ahead of any discussion or vote on the bill.
Filing the form does not preclude the senator from voting on the bill. On his disclosure form, Dorn explained his decision not to abstain from voting.
“My vote is only one of 49,” he wrote. “This bill will benefit the entire state and any landowner who may contract with a private entity. It is not exclusive to my property."
The Flatwater Free Press is Nebraska’s first independent, nonprofit newsroom focused on investigations and feature stories that matter.
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