La Pine Data Center, La Pine, Oregon

On May 27, 2026, the La Pine City Council, in Deschutes County, Oregon, voted unanimously against selling 20 acres in the La Pine Industrial Park to Boxminer.io for a 20-megawatt data center, to applause and cheers. At a May 13 hearing, public comment ran nearly three hours, most of it opposed, and the next day Boxminer.io chief executive Jeff Keller wrote, "I'm not sure there will ever be a data center in La Pine after last night's meeting and the land sale has not yet been approved by the city."

A March 25 city memo said Boxminer would buy the 20-acre parcel for $1.5 million, half to the city and half to Deschutes County, which must also sign off, and that site construction would cost $286 million. Midstate Electric Cooperative could guarantee at least 20 megawatts of power, enough for about 16,000 homes, according to Midstate.

Keller told the hearing, "We are here to create jobs in the community. A data center is a clean factory with no pollution, very little noise, a lot less noise than the sawmill and the freight train, and a positive effect on the community." City Manager Geoff Wullschlager said the company had not provided specific examples of how its closed loop cooling technology worked elsewhere.

Boxminer had floated up to 200 full-time jobs if the site expanded, but Keller estimated 50 to start, adding, "I'm not 100% sure we will get to 50, but it will be considerable." Wullschlager's report found that by Amazon's job-to-square-foot ratio the facility would produce only about five jobs: "In both the revenue and employment categories (comparable by way of data), Boxminer's estimates fail to yield dependable information."

"You have to understand, we do listen to you," City Council President Cathi VanDamme told the crowd.

The land is owned by Deschutes County, and any sale needed approval from both the La Pine City Council and the Deschutes County Board of County Commissioners; the council's May 27 vote ended the sale process.