Headlines on data centers and what they mean for communities
Data Center Moratoriums
Data center moratoriums temporarily pause new applications or approvals while local governments write rules. Recent headlines include San Diego's unanimous 45-day moratorium; Charlotte's extension to Oct. 18, 2027; Georgetown, Ky.'s extension to June 30, 2027; and Ascension Parish's 90-day order. Some bodies have declined to act: the council in Aurora, Colo., again blocked a moratorium when a 6-5 vote fell one short of the seven needed, and Davidson County, N.C., rejected a four-month one.
24 headlines, newest first. Times are Pacific. Each headline links to the original reporting.
Residents and grassroots groups held a press conference Thursday evening outside the NTT data center complex in Gainesville, calling for a 12-month pause on new data center applications that need a vote by the Prince William Board of County Supervisors. Potomac Local reports no indication as of Oct. 30 that the board or Planning Commission has taken up the request.
After an Oct. 29 briefing, Millwood officials may extend the data center moratorium adopted July 14 (Ordinance 559), which reaches its six-month mark in January. Contract city planner Amanda Tainio said she will ask the city council in December to schedule a January public hearing on an extension, and the planning commission deferred any decision on its own hearing date.
Northampton's Planning Board and the City Council's Committee on Legislative Matters voted Oct. 29 to send the full council Ordinance 26.125, which would bar data center permitting, construction and establishment for 365 days while a select committee studies permanent rules. The full council must vote to adopt it and is expected to take it up Nov. 5, according to Councilor Laurie Loisel.
Protesters are pressing for a moratorium on Google's planned 312-acre Project Raspberry campus, saying officials and the company have not answered questions about energy use, water use, safety and property values. Land grading for the first of three planned data centers has begun, and county officials declined interviews.
The Tazewell County Board unanimously approved the moratorium on Wednesday, Oct. 28, after its land use committee and Zoning Board of Appeals each unanimously recommended it. No data center applications have ever been filed with the county, and none can be filed during the moratorium while the county drafts a data center ordinance.
The Municipal Association of Victoria, the peak body for all 79 councils in the Australian state, passed a resolution at its October state council meeting calling for a moratorium on approvals for all new or expanded data centers until a comprehensive planning and environmental framework is established. A second motion calling for better regulation of data centers' social, economic and environmental impacts also passed.
The Sioux County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 on Oct. 27 to approve data center regulations and lift the moratorium in place since June, with Supervisor Dan Altena opposed. Supervisor Carl Vande Weerd said the rules include a 25-megawatt limit per site, and the votes did not approve a specific facility.
