Data Centers | March 25, 2026
Pennsylvania passes first-ever statewide data center regulations; Aurora IL approves the strictest local ordinance in Illinois after its six-month moratorium expires. READ MORE.
At A Glance 🔽
- Pennsylvania House passes H.B. 1834, creating the state's first data center regulatory framework; bill now heads to Senate.
- Aurora, IL approves strict noise limits and 1,500-foot setback requirements for new data centers as its six-month moratorium expires.
- Three Cumberland County, NC commissioners publicly back a data center moratorium after a packed hearing with 33 speakers.
- Liberty, MO approves $1.4 billion in bonds and $202.7 million in 25-year tax abatements for a Metrobloks data center.
- Rowan County, NC residents launch petition with nearly 3,000 signatures after 400 acres quietly rezoned for data center use.
- Columbus, GA draws 200+ to public forum as opposition to proposed "Project Ruby" data center grows.
- Rochelle, IL council votes to table a data center development agreement over utility capacity concerns.
- Lacy Lakeview, TX council reviews a sewer mining system to supply recycled wastewater for a planned data center. (Continuation)
- Lowndes County, GA residents demand moratorium on proposed DC BLOX AI data center near Valdosta.
PENNSYLVANIA
The PA House passed H.B. 1834, legislation that would create the first-ever regulatory framework for data centers in Pennsylvania. The bill prohibits utilities from shifting data center-related costs onto regular ratepayers and requires data centers to cover the full cost of grid upgrades, transmission, and reliability needs.
The legislation also mandates that increasing amounts of electricity supplied to data centers come from new in-state renewable sources like wind and solar paired with battery storage, with a 32% clean energy requirement. Data centers would contribute to a Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program Enhancement Account; 300,000 Pennsylvania households depend on LIHEAP for heating assistance. Utility shutoffs in the state rose 38% in 2025. H.B. 1834 now moves to the state Senate.
Dane Artisola
More happening in Pennsylvania from March 3 Daily Notes
AURORA
Illinois
Aurora City Council approved "strictest data center regulations in the state" Tuesday night, as its six-month moratorium on new data centers expired. The ordinance caps daytime noise at 56 decibels and nighttime noise at 46 decibels, requires generators and chillers to be 1,500 feet from homes, and mandates City Council approval for any new facility.
New data centers must also complete studies on sound, noise, and water before development, and meet standards for vibrations and energy use. The rules apply only to new centers, not the four existing facilities or five already in the pipeline. The regulations could take effect as soon as April 1.
Granicus, Inc.
Granicus, Inc.
CUMBERLAND COUNTY
North Carolina
Three Cumberland County commissioners publicly declared support for a data center moratorium after a packed public hearing Monday night. The hearing nearly filled the 85-seat meeting room, with 33 speakers and 96 written comments submitted.
Shared by Fayetteville Freedom for All
The hearing followed a weekend teach-in organized by Fayetteville Freedom for All that drew about 45 people. At least two companies have expressed interest in building large data centers in Fayetteville. A moratorium would require a separate public hearing before formal approval.
LIBERTY
Missouri
Liberty officials voted Monday to approve $1.4 billion in bonds and $202.7 million in tax abatements over 25 years for a Metrobloks data center on Old Hughes Road. The developer plans to build three buildings totaling approximately 568,800 square feet. The first phase was approved in December.
City leaders emphasized that Liberty will not back the bonds; Metrobloks purchases and services them itself. In exchange for the abatements, Metrobloks will make about $49 million in payments distributed among taxing entities including schools and libraries. An Evergy representative said the project should put downward pressure on rates by increasing kilowatt-hour usage without requiring new generation capacity.
ROWAN COUNTY,
North Carolina
Rowan County residents are fighting a data center after commissioners quietly rezoned nearly 400 acres of former farmland on Long Ferry Road in Salisbury in October 2025 to allow data center use. An online petition has gathered nearly 3,000 signatures, and residents raised $1,200 via GoFundMe to pressure commissioners to reject the project.
The former Carlton Farms site was sold for $174 million in November to EDC Charlotte LLC, a firm linked to data center developer Edged, a subsidiary of Connecticut-based Endeavour. No data center project has been formally requested for approval yet. Residents at a March 16 meeting said the rezoning happened without meaningful public notice. Chairman Greg Edds told roughly 45 attendees that no data center deal has been made.
COLUMBUS
Georgia
Dane Artisola
In case you missed it...
More than 200 residents attended a public forum Monday night at the Psalmond Road Recreation Center in Midland, where Mayor Skip Henderson and representatives from Choose Columbus, the Water Works, Flint Energies, and the developer answered questions about a proposed large-scale data center in northeast Muscogee County.
Opposition to "Project Ruby" has been building through council meetings and Planning Advisory Commission sessions. Columbus Council is expected to take up the overlay next month; any individual projects would require it to be in place first.
ROCHELLE
Illinois
Rochelle City Council voted Monday night to table a development agreement with LFF Industrial (d.b.a Midwest Power Investors LLC) for a data center on nearly 200 acres north of Steward Road. Mayor John Bearrows raised concerns about the project's three-phase structure and its impact on Rochelle Municipal Utilities' electrical supply.
The first phase requires 48MW of power, and by the final phase the facility would consume the city's entire remaining supply of roughly 75MW. The New York-based developer would cover $4 million in electrical improvements and $2.8 million in water and sewer infrastructure, with the facility using up to 50,000 gallons of water per day. Rochelle Municipal Utilities expects annual revenue exceeding $1 million from the project.
LACY LAKEVIEW
Texas
Dane Artisola
Continuation from March 11 tabling
Lacy Lakeview City Council reviewed a preliminary development agreement with Energy Systems Group to study a sewer mining system that would recycle wastewater for industrial use at a planned data center, avoiding any draw on groundwater or fresh water supplies.
The proposed system would intercept wastewater from local sewer lines, treat it onsite, and produce industrial-grade water suitable for cooling and other operations. The technology has been deployed by reUse in Australia and parts of the western United States but is relatively new in the data center space. The agreement covers a study phase only with no financial commitment from the city, and is expected to take about 90 days. The project is tied to a larger data center development planned by Infrakey DC Parks.
LOWNDES COUNTY
Georgia
Government Websites by CivicPlus®
Lowndes County residents are pushing for a moratorium on a proposed AI data center on Coleman Road near the Foxborough subdivision in Valdosta. On March 6, Lowndes Citizens Against Data Centers sent an open letter to the Board of Commissioners calling for a freeze until ordinances are developed.
The county responded on March 9, stating the land was rezoned last July but no official plans have been submitted. A Development of Regional Impact study would be required before any project moves forward.
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