🔖North Carolina

A zoning provision buried on page 131 of a 132-page law is now complicating local governments' ability to regulate data centers across the state... and many lawmakers who voted for it may not have realized it was there.

Senate Bill 382, passed by Republicans in late 2024 over Gov. Roy Cooper's veto, was primarily focused on hurricane relief funding and stripping executive branch power. But tucked near the end was a restriction barring municipalities from initiating downzonings, such as reducing permitted uses, without written consent from all affected property owners. In practice, if data centers are currently allowed in a zone, cities can't pass new rules limiting them. Salim Furth, a free-market advocate at George Mason University who initially praised the change, now calls it the nation's strictest downzoning restriction. Southern Pines has stopped amending its development ordinance entirely, and Durham canceled a public meeting on its own.

The state Senate unanimously passed a fix bill in May, but it's stuck in a House committee ahead of an expected April short session.

🔖Michigan

DTE reports it has 1.4 gigawatts of data center load under contract and roughly 3 gigawatts in late-stage negotiations, with another 3-4 gigawatts in its broader pipeline... and final terms on at least one additional agreement are expected in the coming weeks.

DTE 2025 Year-end Earnings Conference Call February 17, 2026 Presentation

Learn more

🔖Hood County, Texas

Hood County residents aren't backing down after commissioners rejected a proposed data center moratorium on Feb. 10, with Precinct 4 Commissioner Dave Eagle putting reconsideration back on the Feb. 24 agenda.

The original moratorium was rejected after a letter from state Sen. Paul Bettencourt warned that counties lack authority to impose development pauses. Eagle was motivated to revisit after Van Zandt County voted Feb. 11 for a temporary moratorium on "green energy" projects.

🔖Edwardsville, Illinois

Edwardsville told residents on Facebook on Feb. 10 that it had received "an inquiry" about a data center but "no formal proposal", but city emails reviewed by the Illinois Answers Project tell a fuller story.

For almost a year, developer Cloverleaf Infrastructure discussed a proposal and site selection in detail with city and Madison County officials, according to nearly two dozen emails. Between May and November, conversations covered land surveys, the special-use permit process, and technical issues. Cloverleaf has an engineering firm working on the project and is awaiting electrical connection details from utility Ameren. The city drew a distinction between Cloverleaf providing a "conceptual site plan" and a formal proposal, but the emails show discussions that went well beyond a casual inquiry. Mayor Art Risavy told a reporter on Feb. 9 that he didn't know anything about it.

🔖Sangamon County, Illinois

Sangamon County's zoning and land use committee killed a six-month moratorium on data center approvals in a Thursday, then the county's Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously recommended that CyrusOne receive conditional permitted use for a $500 million data center near Waverly.

The committee voted before the public comment session, frustrating residents who wanted to voice concerns first.

CyrusOne's proposal would place four buildings on 280 acres of farmland in Talkington Township, adjacent to the Double Black Diamond solar panel farm, with construction estimated at five to seven years. The company said it would use non-evaporative cooling to reduce water usage.

Farmer Treg Caruthers, who lives less than two miles from the site, raised concerns about Lake Springfield's water supply and the 2.8 million gallons of diesel fuel the facility would store. A final vote could come at the county board's March 23 meeting.

🔖Festus, Missouri

Festus officials rejected a petition with more than 1,400 signatures calling for a special election to ban large-scale data centers for 10 years, saying the city doesn't have the ability to put such a referendum on the ballot.

Opponents presented the petition and a letter to the City Council on Feb. 9 after CRG of St. Louis announced plans to develop a data center on property north of Highway 67 and west of Highway CC. City Attorney Brian Malone said in a written statement that Festus cannot put such a referendum on the ballot. A packed crowd filled City Hall as opponents rallied outside.

🔖Miami County, Kansas

Miami County commissioners are considering a temporary moratorium on data centers, solar arrays, wind farms, and battery storage in unincorporated areas after Osawatomie signed a predevelopment deal for a $1 billion, 600,000-square-foot data center.

Developer Alcove Development secured a three-year contract with exclusive rights on 115 acres north of Osawatomie, a town of about 4,000. The city agreed to provide one million gallons of water and 150 megawatts of power per day, along with a 50% property tax abatement for 10 years.

Presiding Commissioner George Pretz said he wants to "take a timeout and get better educated," noting the county is trying to determine whether data centers represent "a chance of a lifetime or is it gonna affect our livelihood." The moratorium could go before the commission in the next two weeks.

🔖Tucson, Arizona

Tucson officials hosted their first public meeting on proposed data center regulations at Pueblo High School Thursday (February 19), the first of four sessions planned to gather community input on a zoning code amendment.

Draft standards would establish a designated area for large-scale data centers, require proof of adequate energy and water supply at the time of application, restrict the use of potable water for cooling, and set renewable energy requirements and decibel limits.

The effort follows Mayor and Council's unanimous rejection of Project Blue last summer. Three more public meetings are scheduled through early March.

🔖Jones County, Georgia

A group of Jones County citizens filed a lawsuit challenging a data center ordinance that commissioners passed on January 16, alleging due process violations and unlawful "contract zoning."

The ordinance created a new M-2 zoning designation in the Griswoldville Industrial Park and allowed data centers as a conditional use. The lawsuit claims officials didn't properly notify residents: the ordinance text wasn't posted to Facebook until January 7, just five days before a public hearing, and a revised version projected at the January 16 meeting was never shared with the public.

Communications obtained through an open records request revealed officials had been in contact with data center developer Eagle Rock Partners for months before introducing the ordinance, workshopping language and discussing application timing. The plaintiffs are asking the court to declare the ordinance unconstitutional and vacate it.

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