Data Centers // February 19, 2026

🔖Minnesota

Environmental advocates, union representatives, and state lawmakers rallied at the Minnesota State Capitol Wednesday calling for a two-year moratorium on new hyperscale data centers. Sen. Jen McEwen (DFL-Duluth) announced plans to introduce legislation temporarily halting new permits while the state studies long-term environmental, infrastructure, and public health impacts.

"If every currently proposed data center in Minnesota is built, they would collectively use more electricity than every household in the state combined," McEwen said.

Sen. Erin Maye Quade (DFL-Apple Valley) said she will reintroduce legislation to ban NDAs related to data center development and eliminate tax exemptions for operators. She cited "Project Bigfoot" in Rosemount, where residents had no chance to question the proposal before the city council because of NDAs.

Kathryn Hoffman, executive director of the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, said more than 20 data center projects are now proposed across the state and that her organization has filed five related lawsuits. The Sierra Club's Peter Wagenius challenged claims that Minnesota should compete for data centers: "They are coming here because of massive subsidies from taxpayers." Speakers called for mandatory environmental impact statements, NDA bans, and residential setback requirements.

🔖Maine

A bill sponsored by Rep. Melanie Sachs would impose a moratorium on data centers requiring 20 megawatts or more of power while a newly created council studies financial, environmental and community impacts. Maine currently has no large-scale AI data centers.

Sen. Matt Harrington pushed back, arguing the moratorium would halt a project already in planning stages in Sanford:

"Maine is in desperate need for economic development. This would completely stifle that entire industry from moving into Maine, at a time when data center growth is massive."

🔖South Dakota

South Dakota senators rejected calls for a moratorium and mandatory setbacks on hyperscale data centers Wednesday while opening the door for incentives paired with protections for water and electricity users. Lawmakers moved through several data center bills in a single session with more still to come.

🔖Joliet, Illinois

Joliet Councilwoman Suzanna Ibarra called on the city to become more transparent about a proposed 795-acre data center, saying at a Tuesday council meeting:

"I want transparency for our residents, and I will accept nothing less."

The project heads to the Plan Commission for a special meeting vote on March 5, with Texas-based developer Hillwood involved. The city previously redacted hundreds of pages in response to a Freedom of Information Act request about the project, though it has since released the information.

The push for transparency comes as Gov. JB Pritzker called for a two-year moratorium on state tax incentives for data centers during his State of the State address Wednesday, citing concerns about the energy grid and consumer costs. A state agency report from December labeled data centers "the primary driver of load growth" for electricity in Illinois.

🔖Marana, Arizona

The Town of Marana determined that referendum petitions filed to put a proposed data center to a public vote don't meet Arizona law requirements, ending residents' bid to challenge the Town Council's unanimous January 6 rezoning decision. The petitions lacked the legal description of the involved properties required for zoning ordinances.

The two petitions (submitted Feb. 4 by Arizonans for Responsible Development with about 2,800 signatures each) had surpassed the 1,360 required. But hours before the town's announcement, the No Desert Data Center Coalition revealed that Worker Power, the sponsoring group that filed the petitions, had attempted to withdraw them. The Coalition called it "a betrayal of our trust."

Since the 30-day filing window has passed, Marana residents cannot refile a referendum petition challenging the rezoning.

🔖Linn County, Iowa

Linn County supervisors unanimously approved a new ordinance regulating future data centers in unincorporated areas, following nearly seven months of development and public input that included a packed meeting in Palo with more than 100 residents.

The ordinance creates separate zoning rules for small and large data centers. Large projects must complete a detailed study outlining water use, sourcing, and potential impacts on groundwater and surface water. Developers must also sign agreements addressing setbacks, lighting, noise limits, traffic impacts and road use. The ordinance applies only to future proposals and doesn't affect two facilities already under construction within Cedar Rapids city limits.

🔖New Kent County, Virginia

New Kent County's Planning Commission heard a presentation Tuesday on draft regulations for a 1,800-acre technology overlay district in the rural county's eastern end.

Director of community development Josh Airaghi called the TOD a "proactive approach to set standards and expectations specific to New Kent." The draft requires 200-foot setbacks from residential zones, 300-foot setbacks from conservation zones, an 85-foot building height limit, and noise capped at 65 dBA during the day and 60 dBA at night. Data centers within the TOD would receive administrative conditional use permits which means there would be no public hearing for individual projects if the district is approved.

Community meetings on New Kent's proposal are expected to begin next month, with a planning commission hearing tentatively set for May or June and a supervisors vote in June or July.

🔖Johnson City, Tennessee

Johnson City commissioners will consider a $96,880 contract for a noise and vibration study aimed at shaping data center regulations before the city's current moratorium on heavy industrial businesses expires June 4.

The study, led by California acoustic engineer John Matagos, will place monitoring equipment at 10 sites around the city and produce findings on how sound from heavy manufacturing impacts surrounding communities. The effort was prompted by public outcry over a potential Bitcoin mine near a BrightRidge substation.

The consultant will propose multiple potential solutions and help draft ordinance language changes. Bruni said he expects proposed changes by late spring, allowing final approval before the June 4 deadline.

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