Data Centers: Daily Notes | August 24, 2026

Salem Township, Pennsylvania

Salem Township, Pennsylvania's Board of Supervisors is set to decide Wednesday on expanding the township's data center overlay zone to accommodate the proposed 4-3 Glenbrook Group campus, the largest of three data center developments taking shape in the township.

The Glenbrook proposal, known as Salem 3, would assemble more than 4,000 acres from over 200 property owners for an estimated $1.4 billion, supporting a 39-building campus with on-site power generation and closed-loop cooling, drawing an estimated 3.5 to 4 gigawatts near the Susquehanna nuclear plant. The Planning Commission has already recommended the zoning expansion. It follows two other projects already underway in the township: Amazon Web Services' roughly $20 billion, 1,200-acre campus tied to a power agreement with the neighboring nuclear plant, and QTS Data Centers' 1,700-acre, 12-building project backed by Blackstone, which involved more than $500 million in payments to 96 local landowners.

Developers tout impacts of 3 data center campuses; Zoning meeting set for Wednesday on 4-3 Glenbrook Group project

<p>SALEM TWP. — While the mere mention of data center projects results in crowded meetings filled with questions and concerns, Salem Township in lower Luzerne County is dealing with the development of three campuses that could change the lives of hundreds of residents and improve the quality of life for many more.</p>

Times LeaderBill O’Boyle

Developer representative Jack Sordoni said proceeds from the earlier QTS transaction were widely distributed among local families, citing an internal company survey in which most respondents said they stayed in the region and used the money on homes, local businesses and charitable giving. He said the Glenbrook project could roughly double that economic effect across the region.

Salem Township Heritage Park could create a lasting community legacy

Aug. 22—SALEM TWP. — Jack Sordoni, who leads the group looking to develop two large data center campuses in Salem Township, said the emerging Heritage Park concept provides a strong example of how par…

Yahoo NewsBill O’Boyle, The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

Kokomo, Indiana

Kokomo, Indiana's Plan Commission voted 5-1 on Aug. 17 to support a zoning amendment allowing data centers on industrial land, with the Common Council set to introduce the ordinance Monday and vote in September.

Kokomo considers zoning change allowing data centers on industrial sites

The Kokomo Plan Commission on Aug. 17 voted five-to-one to support an amendment making data centers an allowed use for industrial properties.

WRTV IndianapolisTim Spears

The change would permit data centers on industrial sites and within parts of the U.S. 31 overlay district on the city's east side, an area previously designated for future office, industrial and limited retail use. The amendment requires data centers to sit at least 200 feet from residential districts and 300 feet from any home, though unlike Indianapolis, Kokomo isn't adding stricter noise or utility regulations. Mayor Tyler Moore said the plan commission will still review individual site plans, and that any project involving an economic development agreement would require council approval of developer requirements. The ordinance separately expands allowed property types for schools, shooting ranges and multifamily housing. The Common Council meets Monday at 6 p.m. at Kokomo City Hall.

Salix, Iowa

Salix, Iowa's City Council voted 3-2 against a one-year moratorium on data center development Thursday night, clearing the way for a proposed Google data center project to move forward despite vocal protests that led Mayor Kevin Nelson to call in police to restore order.

Council member Denise Burkhart, who had backed a moratorium last month, switched her vote after Google was identified as the likely developer, saying the city needs to open conversations with the company to understand what it could offer before deciding it isn't right for Salix. Council member Gene Monk pushed for the delay, arguing a year-long "cool-down period" would let residents research the issue and potentially vote on it themselves, calling it too big a decision for five council members alone. The previous week's council meeting had been postponed after death threats circulated on social media.

The city has already annexed 900 acres of farmland south of Sioux City for a potential project involving both Google and MidAmerican Energy, though the land would still need to be rezoned before construction could begin. Salix faces a separate legal challenge from Woodbury County over the annexation itself.

Spartanburg County, South Carolina

A proposed data center at 300 Jones Road in Spartanburg County, South Carolina is heading to the county's Board of Zoning Appeals Aug. 25 after planning staff rejected its development application, developer Lightstone Group's parcel.

Staff denied the application in June for failing to comply with the county's land management ordinance, and rejected a revised submission in July on procedural grounds, leading Lightstone executive Joseph Teichman to file the appeal.

The project, originally called Project Lighthouse, was the catalyst for county council's initial vote on a data center moratorium in June, a vote that came shortly before two incumbent council members who backed earlier data center tax incentives lost their primary runoffs. County spokesperson Scottie Kay Blackwell said the county will continue denying new data center applications, including this one, while the moratorium remains pending, emphasizing the upcoming hearing is administrative and won't itself approve the project.

Proposed Spartanburg data center project appeals after county rejects application

The 200,000-square-foot, 60-megawatt data center at 300 Jones Road has appealed county planning staff’s rejection of its development application and is on the agenda for the Board of Zon…

Yahoo NewsChristian Boschult

The 200,000-square-foot facility would run on 60 megawatts of already-permitted grid power and is projected to use about 33,000 gallons of water daily, a fraction of the 460,000 gallons projected for the nearby NorthMark data center. The site has passed through several owners since Greenidge Generation Holdings purchased it in 2021, most recently selling to Lightstone and LightHouse Data Centers for $18 million in December 2025 after a prior sale agreement with Data Journey LLC collapsed.

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Calvert Cliffs, Maryland

Amazon Web Services withdrew its proposal for a roughly 2.4 million-square-foot data center campus at the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant following strong local opposition and political backlash.

Amazon Web Services | Calvert County, MD - Official Website

Calvert County MD Economic Development HomepageGovernment Websites by CivicPlus®

The withdrawal came after three incumbent county commissioners who supported the project and opposed a development pause lost their primary races. County officials are now considering a six-month moratorium on data center site-plan approvals to study development impacts, review zoning rules and consider regulatory changes.

While AWS characterized the withdrawal as a business decision related to development timelines and infrastructure requirements, local opponents said the decision does not remove the need for a moratorium, particularly because another developer has proposed a nearby facility.

Doylestown Township, Pennsylvania

Township supervisors unanimously advanced a proposed ordinance to establish zoning rules for data centers, despite no developer currently having approached the municipality, as part of a 180-day curative-amendment process intended to close a gap in the existing zoning code.

The draft would allow standalone data centers only as conditional uses in light-industrial districts, with 100-foot setbacks that increase to 200 feet next to residential properties, along with required buffering, noise and vibration studies, emergency management plans and compliance standards.

Officials said the rules are intended to define and regulate data centers rather than encourage them, while acknowledging that overly restrictive building-size or power-consumption limits could effectively exclude the use and expose the ordinance to legal challenges. Supervisors are also considering provisions addressing electronic waste, generators, renewable energy, decommissioning, potential payments in lieu of taxes and penalties for violations, while applicants would be responsible for the cost of township-commissioned reviews. The proposal will undergo further planning review and could be considered for adoption in October if the process stays on schedule.

Bellevue, Wisconsin

The Bellevue Village Board unanimously approved a temporary 12-month moratorium on data center development and construction, effective through August 2027, to give officials time to study the facilities' potential environmental and community impacts.

Bellevue Village Board passes data center moratorium - Press Times

On Wednesday, August 12, the Bellevue Village Board held a public hearing and unanimously passed a temporary 12-month moratorium on data centers. This moratorium involves an …

Press TimesCassi GarrisonContributing Writer

Residents broadly supported the pause during a public hearing, citing concerns over water supply, electricity costs, pollution, emissions, noise and resource consumption, while others raised questions about non-disclosure agreements and electromagnetic fields. Village officials clarified that the moratorium is intended as a temporary planning measure rather than a permanent ban, with Wisconsin law allowing up to 12 months plus a possible six-month extension. During the moratorium, the board plans to research issues including electromagnetic fields and consider whether regulations should address resource-intensive developments more broadly rather than data centers alone. One trustee questioned whether similar restrictions should apply to other large developments with comparable impacts, such as Amazon fulfillment centers.

Cumberland, Rhode Island

The Cumberland Town Council advanced a proposed zoning ordinance restricting data centers by referring it to the ordinance subcommittee for review and advertising ahead of a future public hearing.

Cumberland Data Center Zoning Limits Head to Subcommittee

Speakers, most from Rhode Islanders for Personal Privacy, backed Cumberland’s proposed data center zoning limits, now referred to a council subcommittee.

Uprise RIAdriana Vossari

Four speakers, including three members of Rhode Islanders for Personal Privacy, spoke in support of the measure, citing concerns about energy costs, utility infrastructure, water use, emissions, air quality and noise, while emphasizing the need for local residents to have a voice in data center development.

The council did not vote on the substance of the ordinance, and the meeting recording did not include the proposed zoning language, so the specific restrictions could not be confirmed from the meeting. The ordinance will return after subcommittee review for an advertised public hearing, where residents will have another opportunity to comment before any final council vote.

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