Data Centers: Daily Notes | June 2, 2026
Reno extends its data center pause to 2027, Vermont Democrats fall short of overriding Gov. Scott's veto, and Oracle, OpenAI, and Related Media break ground on a $16 billion Saline Township campus.

At A Glance 🔽
- Reno, NV: City Council extends data center moratorium through August 31, 2027.
- Grove City, OH: Council passes a one-year moratorium on a 310-acre Stream Data Centers proposal.
- Westbrook, ME: Council unanimously approves a 180-day moratorium after Gov. Mills's statewide veto.
- Saline Township, MI: Oracle, OpenAI, and Related Media break ground on a $16 billion data center with Gov. Whitmer.
- Bell County, TX: 40-plus residents speak at packed workshop urging moratorium; June 15 vote scheduled.
- Boyd County, KY: TeraWulf's Muskie Data Campus draws a packed FIVCO region town hall.
- Cedar Hill, TN: Rural Robertson County community imposes a two-year moratorium.
- Nassau County, FL: Fact-finding committee launches; moratorium vote set for June 8.
- Vermont: House Democrats fall seven votes short of overriding Gov. Scott's veto of AI data center bill.
- Hermantown, MN: City Council expands Urban Service Boundary 4-1 amid Google data center fight.
Reno, Nevada
Reno City Council | Special Meeting | Captions Available | Thursday, May 14, 2026
Reno's City Council voted to extend its moratorium on new data center applications through August 31, 2027, and the pause cannot be lifted until new data center rules are added to city code.

Reno's six existing data centers in downtown, south Reno, and the North Valleys are not affected. Many public commenters called for a permanent ban over water and energy concerns.
Grove City, Ohio

Grove City Council approved a one-year moratorium on new data centers Monday night after a packed meeting that saw residents overflow into the lobby and protesters chanting "No Data Centers" outside.
The legislation, authored by Councilmember Mohamed Omar, creates a task force to study impacts and deliver a report within six months. The pause targets a 310-acre campus planned by Headwaters Site Development and Stream Data Centers near Rensch Road. A law firm representing Headwaters threatened a court challenge ahead of the vote, but co-founder Michael Lebow later said the company would not sue.
Westbrook, Maine
Westbrook's City Council approved a 180-day data center moratorium Monday night, joining a wave of Maine municipalities acting after Gov. Janet Mills vetoed a statewide ban in April.

Mayor David Morse said the Legislature encouraged local moratoriums after the veto. The pause took effect immediately and gives the planning board time to review the city's land use ordinance. Data centers are currently permitted only in the Rock Row Contract Zone, and Assistant City Administrator Jennie Franceschi said keeping them there would require much stronger performance standards.
Saline Township, Michigan

Oracle, OpenAI, and Related Media broke ground Monday on a $16 billion data center in Saline Township, with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer joining developers at the Washtenaw County site they have dubbed "The Barn".

Once complete, the facility will draw more than a gigawatt of power, comparable to a typical nuclear plant. Whitmer, who signed laws in 2024 to welcome data centers to Michigan, highlighted a separate law banning utilities from passing data center power generation costs onto other customers. The first phase is expected to go live in early 2027. Residents and environmental groups have rallied at permitting meetings and sued over the development.
Bell County, Texas
More than 40 Bell County residents spoke at a packed Monday Commissioners Court workshop as eight data centers are proposed or under development in the Temple area.
Texans deserve a say in what happens to their communities.
— Clayton Tucker (@ClaytonTuckerTX) June 2, 2026
Today, I spoke at the Bell County Commissioners Court about the real costs of AI data centers: increased water and power demand, noise and property value concerns, and the impact these projects can have on the people who… pic.twitter.com/5oRIcpB274
Commissioner Louie Minor is proposing a moratorium. County Judge David Blackburn said Texas counties have no zoning authority, leaving tax abatement agreements as the main tool, and outlined a "term sheet" of conditions covering noise studies, setbacks, building height limits, and disclosure of power and water usage. Bell County is watching neighboring Hill County, where a developer has sued after commissioners approved a one-year moratorium earlier this month. A Bell County vote is set for June 15.
Boyd County, Kentucky

A Boyd County town hall over TeraWulf's proposed Muskie Data Campus drew a packed and emotional turnout from across the FIVCO region as residents pressed leaders on land, water, and health.
Maryland-based TeraWulf plans to acquire nearly 300 acres at the East Park Industrial Center, a site spanning Greenup and Boyd counties. Judge Executive Eric Chaney told residents the facility would use a closed-loop water system, with TeraWulf paying for on-site power upgrades. The first phase is targeted for 2028 and full power by 2030. TeraWulf is expected to host its own town hall on June 17.
Cedar Hill, Tennessee
Cedar Hill, a rural farming community in Robertson County, imposed a two-year moratorium on data centers and cryptocurrency mining facilities at its Monday City Council meeting.
There are no current proposals in Cedar Hill, but Mayor John Edwards said watching neighbors across the state line in Franklin, Kentucky fight a proposal for three 200,000-square-foot data centers made the issue feel close to home. Edwards cited water and environmental concerns in a region recently hit by drought. Tennessee already hosts 61 data centers per DataCenterMap.com. Nearby McMinnville is set to consider its own moratorium at a special session Wednesday at city hall.
Nassau County, Florida
Nassau County commissioners launched a fact-finding committee on data centers Monday night, while also weighing a moratorium of up to 12 months with a final hearing scheduled for June 8.

The county-staff committee will review environmental impacts, water consumption, electrical demand, land use, and infrastructure, then report to the board by late summer. Residents and conservationists at Monday's first public meeting urged the county to slow down, with some calling for a permanent ban. The debate intensified after NextNRG announced it would lease 1,600 acres in the county, with 400 acres flagged as suitable for a data center.
Vermont
Vermont House Democrats fell seven votes short Friday in their attempt to override Gov. Phil Scott's veto of a bill that would have regulated large AI data centers.

The bill would have triggered Vermont's Act 250 land use law for any large data center built in the state and required strict water and energy permitting. Scott argued in his veto letter that existing Vermont law already provides regulatory authority, and warned the bill's broader language would set an "unacceptable precedent" reaching beyond data centers. Rep. Kathleen James, who chairs the House Energy and Digital Infrastructure Committee, said she expects another similar bill in 2027.
Hermantown, Minnesota

Hermantown's City Council voted Monday to expand the Urban Service Boundary in the city's 2045 Comprehensive Plan, drawing protest from residents fighting a proposed Google data center.

The amendment lets the city extend sewer and water service to the Adolph neighborhood. City leaders said the change was needed because Hermantown's boundary did not match that of the Western Lake Superior Sanitary District (WLSSD), and would have happened regardless of Google's project. Stop the Hermantown Data Center, which is already suing the city over zoning changes in the Adolph neighborhood, pressed the council on tax and water service impacts. The amendment will be sent to WLSSD for alignment this summer.
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