Sue Data Centers

Data Center Registry

PNNL AI Data Center

Richland, Benton County, Washington

ProposedNo reception on recordAI confirmedRecord updated September 10, 2026

PNNL AI Data Center is a proposed data center in Richland, Washington (Benton County), operated by Battelle Memorial Institute (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory). The public record puts it at 2 MW planned.

Every line on this page traces to a public source listed at the bottom. Where a figure was looked for and not found, the row says so. A blank is never a zero.

Facility record

Proposed

Operator
Battelle Memorial Institute (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)
Facility type
Data center, AI use confirmed
Location
Richland, Benton County, WA
Coordinates
46.3480, -119.2790 (approximate)
Power capacity
2 MW planned
Land
Not established from a public source
Investment
Not established from a public source
Announced
Not established from a public source
Utility
Not established from a public source
Cooling
Not established from a public source
Water use
Not established from a public source
Jobs
Not established from a public source
Public subsidy
Not established from a public source
Community reception
No reception on record
Source confidence
Reported by at least one credible outlet or filing

Timeline from the record

Newest first. Record entries come from the filings and reports the registry cites. Coverage entries are headlines from publisher feeds we monitor daily, linked to the outlet; last checked September 14, 2026.

  1. April 26, 2026
    Proposed
    PNNL confirmed it is 'considering the possibility of a small data center due to increased focus on AI at PNNL'; the RFI response window had closed. Source: The Spokesman-Review

Opposition and litigation at this site

Nothing on record as of September 10, 2026. No lawsuit, organized opposition, or contested hearing over PNNL AI Data Center in Richland, Benton County, Washington appears in the sources this registry tracks. That is an absence in our sources rather than a finding that none exists, and local opposition often predates any coverage a national dataset would pick up.

If you live near this site and something is happening that this page does not show, that is worth telling us. Send us the document and it goes in the record with the source attached. For sites where opposition is already established, see every contested site we track.

Power and water

The request for information sought vendor input on on-site power options if utility distribution is limited, containerized or modular structures, power purchase agreements, solar and nuclear supply, and heat reuse for industrial processes.

Notes on the record

Battelle, which operates PNNL for the Department of Energy, issued a request for information for an on-premises next-generation AI compute data center to train and operationalize large language models for scientific and national government missions. Roughly 2 MW at a possible 2028 launch, with potential future expansion to about 40 MW. This would be DOE-funded and DOE-operated, not a private operator building on federal land. No construction decision has been made, this is an RFI-stage proposal only. Coordinates are an approximate geocode of the PNNL campus in Richland. Public-reception check (2026-09-10): Checked The Spokesman-Review's coverage (2026-09-10) of this DOE Genesis Mission-linked project; it covers technical specs and funding, with no resident, community-group, or elected-official reaction documented.

What the record does not establish, and the document that would

In every fight on our tracker the decisive fact came out of a public records request. These are the requests for this site.

  • Cooling method and water use
  • Tax abatements or other public subsidy
  • Permanent jobs promised
  • Land area
  • How the community has received it
  • Which utility serves it
Which document closes each gap
Cooling method and water use
The water service agreement, any groundwater appropriation permit, and the mechanical narrative in the site plan.
Tax abatements or other public subsidy
The abatement, PILOT, or development agreement approved by the county, city, or development authority, and the state's data center sales tax exemption certificate if one was issued.
Permanent jobs promised
The economic development application or incentive agreement, which usually states a job commitment and a clawback.
Land area
The rezoning application, the plat, or the deed recorded with the county.
How the community has received it
Planning commission and governing body minutes, public comment records, and any petition or lawsuit filed in the county.
Which utility serves it
The electric service agreement or the utility's filing with the state public utility commission.

Have one of these documents? Send it to us and we will add it to the record with attribution.

Other sites within 30 miles

Distances are between recorded coordinates, many of which are a city or county centroid, so treat them as approximate. Cumulative load on one utility and one aquifer is the question a planning commission rarely asks.

Questions people ask about this site

Is there opposition to the PNNL AI Data Center in Richland?

Nothing on record as of September 10, 2026. No lawsuit, organized opposition, or contested hearing over PNNL AI Data Center in Richland, Benton County, Washington appears in the sources this registry tracks. That is an absence in our sources rather than a finding that none exists, and local opposition often predates any coverage a national dataset would pick up.

Has anyone filed a lawsuit over the PNNL AI Data Center?

No lawsuit over PNNL AI Data Center appears in the record we track as of September 10, 2026. Residents most often reach a lawyer over water supply, well drawdown, noise from cooling plant, property value, or a rezoning approved without the notice the ordinance required. If any of that is happening near this site, it is worth a review whether or not a case has been filed yet.

How much water does PNNL AI Data Center use?

No water withdrawal figure for PNNL AI Data Center is on record here. Water use is rarely published voluntarily; it usually surfaces through a utility service agreement or a state withdrawal permit, both of which are public records. We leave the number blank rather than estimate one.

Who operates PNNL AI Data Center, and how big is it?

Battelle Memorial Institute (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) is the operator on record. Capacity on record is 2 MW.

How to cite this page

SueDataCenters.org Data Center Registry, "PNNL AI Data Center," updated September 10, 2026, https://suedatacenters.org/data-centers/pnnl-ai-data-center-richland-wa.

Facility data from Compute Atlas (E. Kubiak), version 1.32.0 (September 7, 2026), licensed CC BY 4.0, record https://www.compute-atlas.com/facilities/pnnl-ai-data-center-richland-wa, retrieved September 14, 2026.

Corrections with a public source are welcome at the Compute Atlas record or through our contact page. The whole registry is available as CSV and JSON under CC BY 4.0.

Sources for this record

As compiled and cited by Compute Atlas, with our own reporting appended. Archived links are used where the original has moved.

  1. 1.AI data center with a different mission being considered in Tri-Cities · The Spokesman-Review · retrieved September 5, 2026
  2. 2.DOE eyes PNNL to 'power the AI revolution' · Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business · retrieved September 5, 2026
  3. 3.What to know about 4 major data center proposals for Tri-Cities area · Tri-City Herald (via Yahoo News) · retrieved September 5, 2026

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