The Devil Is in the Data Center Politics, Not Just the Details - Devon Reese
Devon Reese postures as a data center expert in an op-ed in a local newspaper. What is the reality? Read this counterpoint and find out.
Devon Reese’s recent opinion piece on data centers is a carefully polished attempt to position himself as Reno’s forward-looking policymaker. But once you strip away the puns and policy buzzwords, the actual framework he suggests raises more questions than answers — especially given his lack of real-world expertise in technology and his votes to put data centers in neighborhoods. Interestingly, Reese’s article was published just a few days after I reported on the presentation by Jeremy Smith, Director of the Truckee Meadows Regional Planning Agency (TMRPA), and Reese takes his ideas or positions in opposition to the expert's findings. He has nothing new to add to the discussion, beyond politicking.
🚰 Water Use: More Symbol Than Solution
Reese frames water as the linchpin issue, suggesting prohibitions on potable water for cooling and tiered rates during droughts.
Reality check: data centers are not Reno’s biggest water hogs. Golf courses, casinos, and suburban lawns consume vastly more water than the smaller data centers that are coming to Reno, which are mostly air-cooled. Singling out data centers for symbolic restrictions looks more like a talking point than a comprehensive water policy.
We need to monitor water usage by data centers, golf courses, casinos, and lawns to ensure that we don’t overextend our usage. If water scarcity is a genuine concern, why not advocate for comprehensive conservation standards across all industries, rather than targeting a single sector? Could it be that Reese accepts donations from casinos and developers? I think that we know the answer.
Pictured above is the Apple Data Center near Patrick, Nevada, 17 miles from Reno on I80, with its powerplant and water source.
⚡ Energy Efficiency: Standards Without Context
Reese proposes mandating a Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of ≤1.3 and requiring renewable sourcing. This doesn’t consider that facility's requirements vary and the need to avoid shutdowns at all costs.
Reality check: most major operators already strive for those metrics to satisfy investors and clients. The real issue in Reno is whether NV Energy’s grid can keep up, not whether a PUE target is written into local law as if Devon Reese knows how a data center should be operated.
🏗️ Zoning: A Convenient Escape Hatch
Reese calls for zoning restrictions to keep data centers away from neighborhoods and “sensitive areas.”
The risk: zoning is also the easiest lever for political favoritism. Which parcels get approved, and which don’t? Who benefits from the land value arbitrage? Reno has a long history of land-use policies bending under pressure from developers.
Reese voted for the 245 Keystone data center in my neighborhood at 2nd and Keystone in West Reno. See these articles that I researched for Our Town Reno for details.
Former Warehouse, Gym Goes From Planned Burner Party Space to Proposed Data Center
Keystone Data Center Gets New Permit Approval Despite Community Opposition
🏜️ Patchwork Regulation Cuts Both Ways
Reese warns of a “race to the bottom” if each county writes its own rules. But his fallback — “if the state won’t act, Reno should” — undercuts his own point.
Why would companies choose Reno if Sparks or Storey County offer lighter regulation just miles away? Without regional coordination, Reno risks regulating itself out of the running while its neighbors secure the investment.
Reese is also attempting to usurp the initiative of Manny Becerra on the planning commission, who has been leading the call for a discussion on the impact of data centers. Again, see the linked article on data centers for Manny’s article.
📊 Quick Comparison
Reese’s Ideas Industry Reality
Ban potable water cooling: Data centers use far less water than golf courses & resorts.
Require PUE ≤ 1.3: A common industry standard, but it depends on the facility.
Renewable-only power sourcing: Grid constraints matter more than mandates.
Zoning: Playing with zoning opens the door to political favoritism & selective deals. Reese has voted for development that went against local zoning more than once.
Backup power limits: Operators are already exploring battery and clean backup options, but they need reliable power or systems crash.
👔 Who’s Qualified to Talk About Data Centers?
Devon Reese’s Background
Lawyer by profession
Reno City Council member
No experience in computing, networking, or data center operations
Likes to pose as an expert on topics, where he has no training
My Background
27 years (1996–2023) in data center computing and networking product marketing working for Cisco, Juniper, Citrix, and VMware.
Specialties: switching, routing, server load balancing, SD-WAN, big data analytics, and distributed application architectures.
Presented to dozens of data center owners and toured facilities across the U.S. and abroad.
Why it matters: Reese’s op-ed reads like someone skimming industry white papers. By contrast, I’ve sat across the table from operators making multi-million-dollar decisions. Reno deserves a debate grounded in technical and economic expertise, not political posturing. However, you don’t have to rely on my opinions; you can refer to the linked article and presentation by TMRPA.
Reese is an expert at posturing. See this article for details. By the way, he wants to run for Mayor.
❓ What’s Missing Entirely
Economic trade-offs: How many jobs and tax dollars justify the footprint?
Transparency: Who pays for infrastructure upgrades — operators, taxpayers, or utilities?
Infrastructure impacts: Where is the economic and infrastructure impact study?
Regional alignment: Where is the initiative to align with county and state goals?
Reese’s alignment with special interests: Has Reese disclosed his connections?
Without tackling these fundamentals, Reese’s “rules of the road” are little more than guardrails without a road.
Reese has a history of scandals, ethics violations, and accepting donations in exchange for votes. See this article for details. By the way, he really does want to run for Mayor.
📝 Bottom Line
Reese’s piece makes for political optics, but the “devil in the datails” isn’t about cooling systems or backup generators. It’s about whether Reno will repeat its pattern of selective zoning, sweetheart deals, and fragmented planning.
If Reese wants to be taken seriously, he should start by demanding independent impact studies, transparent cost models, and state-level negotiations — not just floating a grab-bag of regulations with a pun in the headline.
Here is the link to Reese’s article if you care to read it: The devil in the ‘datails’ | Devon Reese
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