📋 Just Passed

State Legislation

• North Carolina: A zoning provision buried on page 131 of a 132-page law is blocking cities statewide from regulating data centers. Senate Bill 382, passed in late 2024, bars municipalities from initiating downzonings without written consent from all affected property owners. The state Senate unanimously passed a fix bill in May, but it's stuck in a House committee.
• Maine: Legislators proposed a moratorium on data centers with loads above 20 megawatts, pausing building, permitting, and establishment through July 1, 2028. State Rep. Melanie Sachs (D-Freeport) proposed the moratorium as an amendment to LD 307, which would create a data center coordination council.

Moratoriums Approved

• Denver, CO: Mayor Mike Johnston and City Council announced a moratorium on new data centers, expected to last several months while the city reviews regulations around land, energy, water use, zoning, and ratepayer affordability. Existing and permitted projects are unaffected.
• Kings Mountain, NC: City Council approved a six-month moratorium on new data center projects.
• Dearborn County, IN: Commissioners approved a moratorium of up to one year on all rezoning proposals for commercial solar farms, battery storage facilities, and data centers, effective immediately.
• Portage, MI: City council expected to approve a temporary moratorium on permits for new data centers and energy storage projects, with a March 24 public hearing on a longer moratorium through year-end.
• Upper Saucon Township, PA: Supervisors unanimously approved a data center ordinance setting strict conditional-use restrictions, including noise caps at 70 decibels, minimum 10-acre lots, landscape buffers, and requirements on air quality, water, and electronic waste. Facilities restricted to industrial and enterprise overlay zones.
• Phillipsburg, NJ: Town Council voted unanimously to approve the first reading of an ordinance that would ban data centers in all zones. A public hearing and final vote are scheduled for March 10.

Projects Approved

• Middlesex Township, PA: Planning commission approved Phase 1-A of a proposed $15 billion, 700-acre data center on Country Club Road. This first phase covers substation construction only, not data center buildings. The plan goes to the Board of Supervisors in March.
• Sangamon County, IL: The zoning committee killed a six-month moratorium, then the Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously recommended CyrusOne receive conditional permitted use for a $500 million data center near Waverly. The proposal would place four buildings on 280 acres. A final vote could come at the county board's March 23 meeting.

Projects Denied or Delayed

• Pacific, MO: Beltline Energy withdrew its rezoning application for a proposed $16 billion data center just minutes into a special meeting, citing an inability to finalize a funding agreement. Attendees who came to speak against the project were left without the chance to address the commission.
• Hays County, TX: San Marcos rejected a proposed data center. Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra proposed a moratorium on high-volume industrial water permits, citing drought emergency authority. Two other projects remain planned and one is already under construction.
• Upper Macungie, PA: Air Products asked the zoning board to postpone a hearing on its proposed 2.6 million square foot data center complex to May, saying the company hasn't decided whether to move forward. The application was filed before the township changed its zoning rules in December.
• Lincoln County, SD: Commissioners voted against a one-year moratorium on hyperscale data centers, opting instead to ask planning and zoning staff to study existing rules.

💬 Catch Up on Discussions

• Hood County, TX: Commissioners set to reconsider a data center moratorium after narrowly rejecting it earlier this month. Commissioners will also vote on seeking a Texas Attorney General opinion on local authority and a resolution asking Gov. Abbott to call a special session.
• Columbus, GA: City Council heard the pitch for a $5.18 billion data center campus on 900 acres. Next public meeting March 6.
• Athens-Clarke County, GA: Commissioners discussed whether to outright ban data centers. The planning commission proposed code amendments classifying them as level-three industrial uses with closed-loop cooling mandates. The current moratorium expires March 6 but is likely to be extended.
• Cobb County, GA: Commissioners expected to vote on a 180-day moratorium on new data center permits in unincorporated areas. A draft resolution cites noise, air quality, aesthetics, and utility impacts.
• Columbia County, GA: A citizen filed two lawsuits challenging data center rezonings for White Oak Business Park and Pumpkin Center, alleging procedural defects, no verified water or sewer capacity analysis, and an incomplete Development of Regional Impact review.
• Independence, MO: City Council expected to vote Monday on a financing plan with $6.2 billion in tax breaks for Nebius's proposed $150 billion AI data center campus on 400 acres. Nebius would receive 98% real property and 90% personal property tax breaks. School and union officials have signaled support; residents have organized against.
• Edwardsville, IL: The city told residents "no formal proposal" existed for a data center, but city emails show nearly a year of detailed talks with developer Cloverleaf Infrastructure covering land surveys, permits, and technical issues.
• Festus, MO: Officials rejected a 1,400-signature petition for a public vote to ban data centers, saying the city can't hold such a referendum. Separately, Mayor Sam Richards called a special meeting to vote on hiring a group to negotiate with developer CRG.
• Miami County, KS: Commissioners considering a temporary moratorium after Osawatomie signed a $1B predevelopment deal with Alcove Development for a 600,000 sq ft data center on 115 acres, including a 50% property tax abatement for 10 years.
• Tucson, AZ: Officials hosted their first public meeting on proposed data center regulations including potable water restrictions, renewable energy requirements, and decibel limits. Three more public meetings scheduled through early March.
• Jones County, GA: Citizens filed a lawsuit challenging a data center ordinance, alleging due process violations and "contract zoning." Open records requests revealed officials had been in contact with developer Eagle Rock Partners for months before introducing the ordinance.
• Montgomery County, MD: Council heard calls for a moratorium during a public hearing on a bill to create a 15-member task force and a zoning text amendment restricting data centers to industrial zones. Work session set for March 9.
• Spartanburg County, SC: State Sen. Shane Martin asked council to delay a vote on a tax incentive package for TigerDC's $3 billion Project Spero. Council passed the second reading, lowering property taxes from 10% to 4%. Final reading set for March 16.
• Michigan: DTE reports 1.4 GW of data center load under contract and roughly 3 GW in late-stage negotiations, with final terms on at least one additional agreement expected soon.
• Sunbury, OH: Dozens of residents packed a public meeting to oppose a proposed Amazon data center. A rescheduled public hearing is set for March 23.
• Fulton County, IN: Plan commission met amid a packed room urging officials to keep the moratorium. County commissioners delayed their vote, citing legal steps. A vote is scheduled for next Monday.
• Sanford, ME: New England Energy Company is seeking to build an AI data center and industrial campus on more than 1,000 acres, facing local pushback and a possible moratorium.
• West Rockhill, PA: Supervisors approved the advertisement of a zoning ordinance amendment to regulate data centers preemptively. The amendment requires solar energy, public water and sewer, and restricts facilities to the industrial district. Public hearing set for April 15.
• Sedgwick County, KS: Two town halls on data center zoning set for March 12 and March 31. A 90-day pause on new applications expires April 17.

📅 Watch out for

• Hood County, TX: Commissioners to reconsider data center moratorium, Feb. 24.
• Independence, MO: City Council vote on $6.2B tax incentive package, March 2.
• Athens-Clarke County, GA: Decision on moratorium extension and zoning changes, March 3. Current moratorium expires March 6.
• Columbus, GA: Public meeting on data center campus, March 6, 2-4 p.m.
• Montgomery County, MD: Joint council committee work session on task force bill, March 9.
• Phillipsburg, NJ: Public hearing and final vote on data center ban, March 10.
• Spartanburg County, SC: Third reading on TigerDC tax incentive, March 16.
• Sangamon County, IL: County board vote on CyrusOne project, March 23.
• Sunbury, OH: Rescheduled public hearing on Amazon data center, March 23.
• Portage, MI: Public hearing on data center and energy storage moratorium, March 24.
• Sedgwick County, KS: Public listening town hall March 12; planning department town hall March 31. Moratorium expires April 17.
• West Rockhill, PA: Public hearing on data center zoning amendment, April 15.
• Upper Macungie, PA: Continued zoning hearing, May 27.

📊 Industry Signals

Senator Bernie Sanders called for a federal moratorium on new AI data center construction on February 23, following Denver's announcement of a similar local measure.

U.S. AI-related investment now exceeds $1 trillion per year. Data center construction spending hit a record $42B annualized pace, up more than 300% since the launch of ChatGPT, per Apricitas Economics. Computer and peripheral equipment investment surged to $270B annualized, up nearly 50% over the past year. Physical capex among Meta, Alphabet, Amazon, and Microsoft alone is expected to exceed $600B in 2026, up from $370B last year. The investment boom remains an almost uniquely American phenomenon, with computer investment in Canada and the UK still below 2022 highs and EU and Japanese investment showing no rapid acceleration.

America’s $1T AI Gamble

US AI-Related Investment Keeps Breaking Records, With Total Software, Computer, & Data Center Spending Now Exceeding $1T Per Year

Apricitas EconomicsJoseph Politano

U.S. data center capacity under construction fell to 5.99 GW at the end of 2025 from 6.35 GW a year earlier, per CBRE. Permit bottlenecks and power delays are compounding even as demand remains strong.

Voters oppose data centers in their communities 46-35, according to an Echelon Insights survey of 1,002 registered voters. Republicans (+15) and graduate degree holders (+2) are the only groups more likely to support than oppose. Democrats oppose by 32 points and women by 21 points.

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