Air Force land leases for AI data centers at JBER, Eielson and Clear
The Air Force offered about 4,700 acres across 12 parcels at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Eielson AFB and Clear Space Force Station for privately financed AI data centers. Residents near the five Eielson-area parcels raised noise, permafrost and grid concerns, including one parcel less than a mile from North Pole Middle School.
How the public reaches this
Proposals closed in the spring and are evaluated privately. No public comment period exists and no award timeline has been announced. The solicitation record is public and carries no awardee.
Timeline
Sources
Every document a fact on this page was checked against.
How this decision moved
One dated line per material change, oldest first.
2026-07-08 Tracked. Bids closed June 29; no public word yet on how many proposals arrived.
2026-07-12 Developer lease proposals closed June 29 and the Air Force is now in private evaluation of bids for up to 12 parcels across JBER, Eielson and Clear. The FY2027 NDAA reported by the Senate Armed Services Committee on June 23 would require a formal grid-impact assessment before the military can approve a data-center Enhanced Use Lease, a statutory check Interior utilities and ratepayers had sought.
2026-07-17 Lease proposals were due June 29 and no developer selection or award has been made public as of this run. Carried forward as pending.
2026-07-21 A July 19 industry analysis (AIX Energy) notes the Alaska Enhanced Use Lease solicitation for commercial AI data centers on about 4,700 acres across 12 parcels at JBER, Eielson and Clear has moved out of its open proposal phase with no developer award announced, and that unlike the Lower 48 portfolio (which set 100 MW and 500 million dollar minimums) the Alaska request's specific megawatt and capital thresholds are not disclosed. Carried forward as pending decision.
2026-07-25 Re-verified by fetching the solicitation record for AFCEC-26-R-0006. The response deadline was June 29, 2026 at 5 p.m. EDT, extended from May 29, and the opportunity now reads Past Due with no award and no awardee recorded, last updated July 14, 2026. Twenty-six days past the deadline the three Alaska installations named in the request, JBER, Eielson Air Force Base and Clear Space Force Station, still have no publicly announced lessee. Evaluation is private, so there is no public comment room here.
2026-07-29 Material update from Congress, verified against primary records. On July 22 at 4:37 p.m. the U.S. House passed H.R. 8800, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027, by 216 yea to 212 nay with 3 not voting, and Alaska Representative Nick Begich voted yea, per the House Clerk's roll call 278. Federal News Network reported that the House Armed Services chairman's mark carries an amendment from Rep. Cory Mills of Florida that bars the Defense Department from leasing its land to private companies to build data centers unless they agree not to install or operate data facility equipment containing components manufactured in China, Russia, Iran or North Korea. Army officials warned the standard would drive world class commercial partners and more than 1.3 billion dollars in private capital away from Army land. If it survives conference it narrows who can bid on the Alaska parcels. The Senate has not passed its version. The underlying offer is unchanged, about 4,700 acres across twelve parcels at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Eielson Air Force Base and Clear Space Force Station under the enhanced use lease model, which the Air Force says returns at least fair market value in cash.
2026-07-30 Rep. Rashida Tlaib introduced the No AI Data Centers on Federal Lands Act on July 23 with five cosponsors. It would permanently ban large AI data centers and associated infrastructure on land owned or managed by the United States, including military bases, and would require existing qualifying facilities to be removed and their sites remediated. The 4,700 acres offered here sit on exactly that kind of land. No award has been announced for the Alaska proposals, which were due June 29. Separately, the Air Force posted a second Eielson land solicitation on July 23 with an August 10 deadline, but that one is for mixed use development and is not part of this offering.
2026-07-31 Re-checked the solicitation record for AFCEC-26-R-0006. It still reads Past Due with no award and no awardee, thirty-two days after the June 29 proposal deadline. The three Alaska installations named in the request still have no publicly announced lessee. Evaluation is private, so no public comment room exists here.
2026-08-01 Re-verified today against the Air Force's own announcement, which states approximately 4,700 acres across twelve parcels at Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson, Eielson Air Force Base and Clear Space Force Station. That announcement sets no lease term in years, so the fifty year figure that has circulated elsewhere does not come from it. No developer selection has been made public as of this run.
2026-08-02 A second and separate Eielson solicitation is now open. Request for Lease Proposal AFCEC-26-R-0009 covers four sites totalling 3,967 acres, held a virtual industry day on July 22, and takes proposals until August 10. The Air Force announcement describes it only as mixed-use development, listing residential, commercial, office, cultural, institutional and entertainment uses, and does not mention artificial intelligence or data centers. That is a description of the announcement. The lease document itself is posted on SAM.gov and has not been read here.
2026-08-03 Still no selection announced. Lease proposals closed June 29, 2026 after an extension from May 29, and five weeks later there is no public award, shortlist or cancellation. Checked today against the Air Force announcement of the offer and the solicitation record for AFCEC-26-R-0006. The offer covers about 4,700 acres across twelve parcels at three installations on ground leases of up to fifty years, so a decision made quietly is a decision with a fifty-year tail.
2026-08-04 Re-checked. The solicitation for AI data center development on the three installations closed to proposals on June 29 and was archived on July 14 with no award posted. The Air Force's own announcement describes approximately 4,700 acres across twelve parcels and quotes Deputy Assistant Secretary Robert Moriarty saying the offer supports the growing demands of the AI industry. Neither that announcement nor the solicitation record states how much electricity a project would draw.
2026-08-06 The lease offer says the JBER sites do not have enough power. The Anchorage Daily News, reporting on the solicitation on May 5, 2026, quotes it describing those sites as having insufficient power for a data center and as requiring a new connection to Chugach Electric Association in Anchorage. Chugach's gas supply contract with Hilcorp Alaska, its primary supplier, ends in 2028.
2026-08-07 Checked and unchanged. No award has been posted on the enhanced use lease covering the three installations. The separate Eielson mixed-use lease still shows proposals due August 10th.
2026-08-08 Checked and unchanged. Re-verified against the Department of the Air Force announcement of April 10, 2026, which offers approximately 4,700 acres across twelve parcels at the three installations under the enhanced use lease model, with the service receiving at least fair market value in cash. No award and no developer selection has been announced, and the effort remains in solicitation.
2026-08-09 Checked and unchanged. No award notice has appeared on the request for lease proposals covering about 4,700 acres at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Eielson and Clear, and the Air Force has still announced no award timeline. Proposals closed June 29 and are evaluated privately, so there is no public step for a reader between now and whatever the Air Force announces. The separate Eielson mixed-use lease covering 3,967 acres reaches its proposal deadline August 10, 2026.
2026-08-13 Checked and unchanged. The federal record for solicitation AFCEC-26-R-0006 still shows the request for lease proposals past due and archived on July 14th, with no award posted and no award timeline announced. Proposals closed June 29th.
2026-08-18 Checked and unchanged. No lease award has been announced, and the Air Force record still shows only the solicitation phase for the roughly 4,700 acres across the three installations.
2026-08-25 Re-verified against the Air Force's own announcement. The department's request for lease proposals covers roughly 4,700 acres across JBER, Eielson and Clear, and the announcement carries no award, no selected developer and no decision. The record stands where it stood.
2026-08-29 Re-verified against the Eielson announcement. The Air Force identified four sites totaling 3,967 acres under solicitation AFCEC-26-R-0009, with proposals due August 10th, 2026 at 5 p.m. Central. The announcement says the opportunity will be awarded through a competitive source selection process, and it names no developer and no award. The record stands where it stood.
2026-09-01 Correction. Entries here from July 25th onward said proposals closed June 29, 2026 after an extension from May 29, and that the record archived July 14. The government's own record does not say that. Read again today through the SAM.gov opportunity API for solicitation AFCEC-26-R-0006, the posted date is April 10, 2026, the response deadline is 5 p.m. Eastern on May 29, 2026, the archive date is June 13, 2026, and the award record is empty. The June 29 date appears to have come from a third party mirror rather than from the solicitation. The substance is unchanged, no lessee has been announced for any of the twelve parcels.
2026-09-02 Timeline corrected again, and this one was the first correction's own fault. With the response deadline put back to May 29, 2026 the milestone reading "Request for lease proposals released" on June 5 left the public timeline saying developers' proposals were due a week before the request for them existed. The government's record gives one release date and it is the posted date, April 10, 2026, which the timeline already carries as "Program announced". The June 5 entry is removed rather than relabelled, because nothing in the solicitation supports a second release. Checked once more today against the SAM.gov opportunity API, which returns version 2 of the record, modified July 15, 2026, with the response deadline at 5 p.m. Eastern on May 29, 2026 and the archive date June 13, 2026. Those two dates settle the earlier disagreement on their own, since a solicitation can't archive on June 13 and take responses until June 29.
2026-09-06 Correction. Since September 1st this entry has said developer proposals were due 5 p.m. Eastern on May 29th, 2026 and that the solicitation record archived June 13th. Those are the first posting's dates. The operative version of solicitation AFCEC-26-R-0006, posted June 16th, 2026 and re-read today on SAM.gov, carries a response deadline of 5 p.m. Eastern on June 29th, 2026 and an archive date of July 14th, 2026, and its award date, number and amount are all still empty.
2026-09-10 Checked and unchanged. The enhanced use lease offering still stands as posted, about 4,700 acres across 12 parcels at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Eielson Air Force Base and Clear Space Force Station, with leases running up to 50 years and proposals having been due May 29th, 2026. The Air Force set no public selection or award date when it posted the offering, and none has been announced since, so a decision here arrives without a calendar.
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Alaska AI Docket, Air Force land leases for AI data centers at JBER, Eielson and Clear.
Tracked since July 8, 2026, last verified
September 10, 2026. https://alaskaaihq.com/docket/air-force-eul-ai-data-centers/ · Reuse permitted under
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Questions about this decision
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What is Air Force land leases for AI data centers at JBER, Eielson and Clear?
The Air Force offered about 4,700 acres across 12 parcels at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Eielson AFB and Clear Space Force Station for privately financed AI data centers. Residents...
Who decides Air Force land leases for AI data centers at JBER, Eielson and Clear?
Department of the Air Force, Enhanced Use Lease program
Can I comment on Air Force land leases for AI data centers at JBER, Eielson and Clear?
Proposals closed in the spring and are evaluated privately. No public comment period exists and no award timeline has been announced. The solicitation record is public and carries no awardee.
Where is Air Force land leases for AI data centers at JBER, Eielson and Clear?
JBER, Eielson AFB, Clear SFS
Has Air Force land leases for AI data centers at JBER, Eielson and Clear been decided?
It is pending a decision. Correction. Since September 1st this entry has said developer proposals were due 5 p.m. Eastern on May 29th, 2026 and that the solicitation record archived June 13th...
What happens next with Air Force land leases for AI data centers at JBER, Eielson and Clear?
No further date is published. It is pending a decision and the record is checked against its source every day.
What changed on Air Force land leases for AI data centers at JBER, Eielson and Clear?
Correction. Since September 1st this entry has said developer proposals were due 5 p.m. Eastern on May 29th, 2026 and that the solicitation record archived June 13th...
What kind of decision is Air Force land leases for AI data centers at JBER, Eielson and Clear?
A federal lease, decided by Department of the Air Force, Enhanced Use Lease program.
When did Air Force land leases for AI data centers at JBER, Eielson and Clear start?
Tracked since July 8th, 66 days ago. The earliest date on its record is April 10th.
Where can I read the sources for Air Force land leases for AI data centers at JBER, Eielson and Clear?
U.S. Air Force, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Alaska's News Source, Office of Sen. Dan Sullivan, HigherGov (SAM.gov mirror), Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, Federal News Network, Office of Rep. Rashida Tlaib, U.S. House, Eielson Air Force Base, Anchorage Daily News, SAM.gov, Department of the Air Force, SAM.gov, U.S. General Services Administration. Every one is listed with its date on the decision page.
Beats
This decision is tracked on Alaska data centers · Alaska power and the grid · Alaska land and permitting for AI · Defense and federal AI in Alaska. Each beat page keeps every decision and every article on that subject in one place.