Data Centers: Daily Notes // February 11, 2026

🔖Hood County, Texas

Hood County commissioners voted 3–2 to reject a proposed six-month moratorium on new data center development after receiving a letter from state Sen. Paul Bettencourt asserting that counties lack authority to impose such pauses. The letter, sent to Attorney General Ken Paxton, urged state intervention if the county proceeded.

The moratorium would have allowed time to study potential impacts on water supplies, energy demand, air quality and quality of life. The county, southwest of Fort Worth, already has at least four proposed data centers, with two more projects disclosed shortly before the vote, raising concerns about local water resources.

🔖Fulton County, Indiana

Fulton County's Area Plan Commission voted 6-1 to approve a 12-month moratorium on data centers after residents packed a public hearing at the Sheriff's Department.

Public Portal • CivicClerk

CivicClerk events and agendas for citizens

The moratorium will halt new data center development in the county, including a proposed 500-megawatt facility by the Decennial Group in Akron. During the meeting, many residents expressed concerns about water usage, electricity demand, and potential environmental impacts.

🔖Montour County, Pennsylvania

Montour County commissioners unanimously denied Talen Energy's request to rezone more than 800 acres from agricultural to industrial use, blocking a proposed data center development.

The rezoning would have allowed expansion of a coal- and gas-fired power plant to supply electricity to the project. Commission chair Rebecca Dressler said Talen failed to demonstrate that the project’s benefits outweighed documented and foreseeable public harms.

Environmental advocates called the vote a significant grassroots win amid growing local resistance to data center expansion nationwide. Talen said it will continue pursuing the project while incorporating community feedback.

🔖Illinois

State Sen. Chapin Rose introduced Senate Bill 4004 (among two other bills), which would permanently prohibit data centers from using groundwater in the Mahomet Aquifer, the primary drinking water source for nearly 1 million people across 14 Central Illinois counties.

Rose has described the aquifer as Central Illinois’ “most precious resource” and said the restriction is meant to prevent potential strain from large-scale data center development. He said discussions could happen if water use can be shown not to threaten the aquifer, but not before further review. All three of Rose’s bills (SB4002 and SB4003) are currently in the Senate Assignments Committee.

Champaign County officials are separately considering a temporary 12-month moratorium on new data centers to study environmental impacts and develop regulations.

🔖Oregon, Ohio

The Oregon City Council narrowly rejected a six-month extension to key development deadlines for a proposed data center near Wynn and Corduroy roads.

Oregon Industrial Park: Information on Data Centers

I believe it is in Oregon’s best interest to rezone the remaining 20 acres in the industrial park to Advanced Manufacturing and continue forward with the project as planned…

City of Oregon, Ohio - City of OpportunityCity of Oregon

The proposed amendment would have given the developers more time to secure pipeline access, emissions approvals, and meet new electrical infrastructure requirements, but it failed in a split council vote. Without it, existing conditions must be met by March 31, creating a tight timeline that city officials say could jeopardize the project.

🔖Marana, Arizona

Marana residents delivered two referendum petitions on February 4 with roughly 2,800 signatures each (well over the 1,360 required) to challenge a Town Council decision rezoning about 600 acres for a proposed data center project by Beale Infrastructure.

The petitions, filed by Arizonans for Responsible Development and backed by the No Desert Data Center Coalition and Worker Power, seek to overturn the council’s unanimous January rezoning vote and refer the matter to voters.

Marana’s Town Clerk now has up to 20 business days to verify signatures before sending the petitions to the Pima County Recorder’s Office for further review. If validated and approved, the measure will appear on a ballot later this year, giving residents a direct say on the rezoning.

🔖Wisconsin

On February 10, the Wisconsin Public Service Commission held a virtual public hearing on We Energies’ proposal to create a new rate structure for very large energy users such as data centers. The utility says the plan is designed to ensure that existing electric customers do not bear the costs of supplying power to these large users.

Some state officials and advocacy groups expressed concerns that the proposal does not go far enough to protect consumers. They pointed to language indicating that very large customers could be required to cover 75% of their costs, raising questions about whether the remaining portion could fall on other ratepayers. Critics urged the commission to require large energy users to pay 100% of the costs associated with serving them.

During the hearing, PSC officials emphasized that public comments will inform the commission’s decision. The commission has not yet issued a final ruling on the proposal.

STRisker Updates Tracker

How do you keep up with the regulatory rollercoaster in your market? STRisker's Updates Tracker can be your guide - start tracking latest events as they happen and get access to essential documents as they come in. We know the struggle, which is why we built this product to capture every twist and turn in the regulatory saga so you never miss a beat.

Start Your Free Trial

👍 We’d love your feedback.
Which stories hit? Which ones missed?

We're exploring a new branch of topics centered around Data Centers and want to make it even more useful for you.

✉️ Just reply directly to this email. We read and respond to every message!

-Will McClure
🙋 P.S.
Know someone else who should be reading Daily Notes? Feel free to forward this along. We’re opening a few more spots.