Data Centers: Daily Notes | May 6, 2026
New Hampshire House committee advances bill to strip towns of data center-specific regulation; SpaceX named in $119 billion Grimes County public notice; Bulloch County extends moratorium and begins drafting an outright ban.
At A Glance 🔽
- New Hampshire House committee advances SB 439 to strip towns of data center-specific regulation.
- Grimes County, TX public notice names SpaceX behind a $119 billion semiconductor and computing facility.
- Camdenton, MO approves one-year data center moratorium; rescinds opportunity zone support.
- Exeter Borough, PA approves data centers as conditional use in industrial zones with 500-foot setbacks.
- Sulphur Springs, TX sets aside $1.2 million in legal fees over data center lawsuits.
- Campbell County, VA eliminates by-right data center use; special use permits now required.
- Franklin County, VA zoning rewrite raises data center recruitment questions after FOIA reveals county emails.
- New Castle Township, PA approves zoning for new Highway Industrial district along I-81.
- Towamencin, PA adopts data center ordinance banning groundwater use, onsite generation, and residential adjacency.
- Bulloch County, GA extends moratorium through year-end; begins drafting an outright ban.
New Hampshire
A New Hampshire House committee voted to advance an amended version of Senate Bill 439 that would prevent towns from regulating data centers more restrictively than other businesses and make them a permitted use "by right" in commercial and industrial zones.
The original bill had sought statewide standards including setbacks, noise limits, and proof of grid capacity, but the Senate gutted most of those provisions in January. Democrats on the committee pushed to kill the bill, citing water and energy concerns. It now heads to the full House.
Grimes County, Texas
A Grimes County public notice names SpaceX as the business behind a proposed semiconductor and advanced computing facility at Gibbons Creek Reservoir, with up to $119 billion in total investment across multiple phases.
The initial phases alone carry a $55 billion price tag, but no official announcement has been made by SpaceX, county leaders, or Elon Musk. Residents have been left to piece information together on their own, and at a previous community meeting the county judge identified the project as xAI, not SpaceX. A formal public hearing is set for June 3.
Camdenton, Missouri
Camdenton's Board of Aldermen approved a one-year moratorium on data centers and rescinded its support for an opportunity zone linked to a proposal from MO Lake Development.
The meeting hit maximum capacity, with police turning away about 25 people at the door. Camden County commissioners separately voted against the opportunity zone designation, and the area's state representative also withdrew his support over data center concerns.
Exeter Borough, Pennsylvania
Exeter Borough Council approved a zoning amendment establishing data centers as a conditional use in General Industrial zones with a 500-foot setback from residential districts and a 60-foot height cap.
The ordinance requires site plans, infrastructure documentation, noise and environmental studies, and a decommissioning plan. Hyperscale proposals may also include a community incentive package.
EXETER BOROUGH, PENNSYLVANIA
AMENDMENT TO ZONING ORDINANCE DATA CENTERS
Sulphur Springs, Texas
Sulphur Springs City Council amended its budget to set aside $1.2 million in legal fees to fight two lawsuits tied to a planned AI data center with developer MSB Global.
Sulphur Springs Data Center
The site's former owners, Vistra Corp. and Luminant Mining, allege the city breached a deed restriction barring energy production or storage on the land. A resident has also sued, claiming city leaders failed to disclose project details. The mayor said the budget move would not raise taxes.
Campbell County, Virginia
Campbell County's Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to require special use permits for data centers, eliminating by-right use after pausing earlier this year to study the issue.
Residents at the public hearing pushed for more input opportunities before projects move forward. Two data center projects already in the pipeline are grandfathered in under the previous rules.
CAMPBELL COUNTY CODE OF 1988
CHAPTER 22 ZONING
Franklin County, Virginia
Franklin County is considering a sweeping rewrite of its zoning ordinance, and residents say the 400-plus-page draft could open the door for data center development in the county.
A FOIA request turned up county emails exploring data center recruitment, fueling resident suspicion that the rewrite is tailored to attract facilities. Supervisors say the update is precautionary. The draft would bar data centers from using private wells, tighten noise rules, and limit them to certain zones. A final vote is expected this summer.
Towamencin, Pennsylvania
Towamencin Township unanimously adopted a new data center ordinance, requiring conditional use approval in the limited industrial zoning district and prohibiting data centers from abutting residential areas inside or outside the township.
Key restrictions include a ban on groundwater use, a requirement for closed-loop cooling, and a prohibition on onsite power generation beyond backup generators. Sound studies are mandated at every phase of the project. Officials fast-tracked the first draft to establish protections quickly and plan to refine it later, with the county planning commission recommending a lower noise threshold.
New Castle Township, Pennsylvania
New Castle Township voted to approve zoning amendments regulating data centers, creating a new Highway Industrial zoning district along Interstate 81 near Frackville where data centers would be permitted as a conditional use.
The rules, developed during a 180-day moratorium, require 200-foot setbacks and environmental impact studies. While the zone sits about 3.5 miles from the nearest New Castle home, it borders residences in Frackville and Butler Township. KRNL Data Centers has already purchased a nearby parcel.
Bulloch County, Georgia
Dane Artisola
Continues from...
Bulloch County commissioners voted unanimously to extend their moratorium on data centers through Dec. 31, 2026 and began discussing an outright ban via zoning amendment.
The original 90-day freeze began in February, and county leaders stress that no developer has submitted an application or even made an inquiry. Still, at least one commissioner pushed to skip half-measures and move straight to a permanent prohibition. The board unanimously directed staff to draft a zoning amendment banning data centers in unincorporated areas, with a public hearing required before final adoption.
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