The Columbia Valley is prime agricultural land, growing dozens of crops including wheat, apples, cherries, hops, and wine grapes. The latest ‘crop’? Data centers.

According to the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business, Trammell Crow Company has purchased approximately 1,000 acres of land in West Richland, northeast of Ruppert Road. The intent appears to be to build a data center. The land is part of the larger, 7,600 Lewis and Clark Ranch subarea.

The data center would be expected to start at 500 acres. It would grow to 1,000 acres. The area is extremely close to the eastern side of Red Mountain, one of Washington’s premier winegrowing regions, though the appellation’s vineyards are on the western side. At least two Red Mountain vineyards would, however, be within direct line of sight of the data center.

At present, no plans or permit applications have been filed with the City of West Richland. However, the city changed its zoning in 2025 to allow data centers to be built in certain areas.

Meanwhile, the Swiss company Atlas Agro plans to develop a Richland data center. Amazon is working to purchase over 500 acres of land in the Wallula Gap Business Park from the Port of Walla Walla to build a data center. Amazon already operates data centers in areas to the south.

Why the sudden interest in this area? Data centers require large swaths of land along with massive amounts of energy and water. Being close to hydroelectric dams is particularly appealing. Areas of the Columbia Valley check many boxes.

It was for similar reasons that bitcoin miners set up shop in various locations in eastern Washington, putting strains on infrastructure and dramatically increasing energy needs. (That link is a must-read article for anyone interested in the impacts of massive energy draws on small cities.) Large data centers, however, require many orders of magnitude more energy.

On the one hand, developers see much of what they need for data centers in areas like the Tri-Cities. On the other, city, county, and port officials see dollar signs, tax revenue, and jobs. They are often eager, at times overly eager, to accommodate such development.

There has been explosive growth of data centers across the U.S. since the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI). This has dramatically increased commercial opportunity and interest in expanding data centers in an ‘AI arms race’ between companies and countries.

Data centers are, however, controversial to say the least. In a time of division in the U.S., they often draw opposition from multiple sides of the political spectrum.

The massive amounts of energy data centers require can mean a substantial investment in infrastructure. Data centers also consume millions of gallons of water, which can compete with consumer and agricultural needs. Electricity rates can rise. They can have significant environmental impacts. Additionally, the promise of a large amount of job creation often turns out to be illusory.

This is true of data centers in general. The impacts of building data centers in major agricultural areas and in wine country? It could be considerably more significant.

Much of the Columbia Valley is a desert where water is already scarce. Irrigation is required to grow crops. Recent drought conditions have already put strains on water usage.

Urban areas are also feeling impacts. As recently as 2024, the Kennewick Irrigation District rationed water due to drought. Dramatically increasing energy usage and water needs in today’s environment seems ill-considered to say the least.

At present, these three data centers remain in the planning stages. The next scheduled West Richland City Council meeting, where the potential Trammell Crow Company data center will be discussed, is October 20^th.

To receive email notifications about new articles, CLICK HERE.

The Northwest Wine Report Fall Subscriber Drive has started! If you’re not already a subscriber, please consider subscribing now. It’s the only way that this site will be able to continue publishing in 2027. See the number of new subscribers still needed on the top right of the site. Click on the button below to subscribe.