Pins matching date:2026-01-01

Green Mountain 6, LLC has proposed a data center campus on former Stavola Quarry land above the Casey Highway. This campus will include seven two-story data center buildings with footprints of 138,000 SF (each building 276,000 GSF) with accessory back-up generator yards, a PP&L-owned switchyard, a customer substation, and extended detention basins. Due to similarities between Archbald's Project Green Mountain and Project Gravity, it is suspected that it that Green Mountain 6 is affiliated with Western Hospitality Partners, although this has not yet been confirmed.

WV House Bill 2014 (2025) created a certified microgrid program and set policies for data centers, stripping local government jurisdiction over 'high-impact' data centers (90+ MW) and diverting property tax revenue. In 2026, bills to restore local control (HB 5590, HB 5620) and require water usage disclosure were introduced but blocked. HB 4983 passed 78-16, bundling rulemaking to limit transparency. On April 1, 2026, West Virginia Watch published a call for a state moratorium, noting HB 2014 bans local governments from enforcing noise, pollution, zoning, lighting, viewshed, or land use rules against certified data center projects. Sen. Joey Garcia's bill to restore local control has not received a hearing. WV MetroNews published an April 7 analysis of the 'data center development dilemma.'

Multiple bills introduced in RI legislature. Rep. Brian Patrick Kennedy's bill would require data centers with 50+ MW demand to cover all electricity infrastructure costs. Three bills introduced in the General Assembly, though lawmakers still debating how to even define 'data center.' Tax incentive proposals also under debate.

Maryland HB 560 (Del. Palakovich Karr, D - Ways & Means) would repeal the existing exemption from sales/use tax and property tax for personal property used at qualified data centers in Maryland. Part of a 2026 wave of state-level legislation rethinking data center tax incentives — over 300 state data center bills have been filed across 30+ states in just six weeks of the 2026 session. Maryland separately overrode a Moore veto to mandate a comprehensive data center impact study (due Sept 2026), reflecting growing legislative skepticism of data center subsidies as energy costs rise. VERIFIED 2026-05-26: HB 560 (repeal data center tax exemptions) never advanced past its Feb 12 Ways & Means hearing; MD adjourned sine die Apr 13, 2026.

Virginia SB 619 / HB 155 requires a State Corporation Commission certificate before data centers over 90 MW can operate. The SCC issues a certificate only if the facility has no material adverse effect on other customers' rates, reliability, or the utility's ability to meet Virginia Clean Economy Act goals. This represents one of the strongest state-level data center permitting requirements in the country.

Georgia SB34 would have prohibited data center fuel generation and transmission costs from being included in residential electricity rates, requiring commercial data centers to cover all increased fuel, power, and transmission system upgrade costs. The bill emerged after the Public Service Commission authorized Georgia Power to expand production by nearly 10 GW — mostly for data centers — including new methane-burning facilities. The Senate avoided a final vote after a last-minute alternative measure based on House Bill 1063 appeared to have the votes to pass.

PowerHouse Data Centers and Pennsylvania Data Center Partners announced a $15 billion joint venture, Pennsylvania Digital I (PAX), comprising three hyperscale campuses around Carlisle, delivering 1.35 GW of capacity with expandability up to 1.8 GW across ~700 acres. Each of the three campuses features six buildings and a dedicated 450 MW substation. As of early 2026, the project has cleared key milestones: water and sewer rights were secured in January 2026 via a $14.1 million agreement with Middlesex Township, and on March 4, 2026, the Middlesex Township Board of Supervisors unanimously approved construction of the first 450 MW substation, clearing the way for Phase 1-b construction of the first data center to begin. The project is expected to generate more than $65 million in direct tax revenue, with over $45 million allocated to the Cumberland Valley school district and local community.

MCD 7 LLC has applied to build Project Laurel, an eight-building data center campus on about 191 acres in Limerick Township, Montgomery County, near the Limerick Generating Station and the Philadelphia Premium Outlets. A 2024 feasibility study found 750 MW could be supplied, though PECO and PJM review is still required and the end user has not been named. Township planners recommended 18 conditions in April 2026 and the Board of Supervisors' conditional use hearing was continued to October 27. No construction has begun and no completion date or cost has been published.

Alaska HB 259 (introduced January 2026 by Rep. Donna Mears) would require large energy facilities (peak demand ≥20 MW) to enter community benefit agreements with the host municipality and pay for at least 80% of contracted power amount regardless of actual purchases (a take-or-pay structure mirroring the RPP). Companion bill SB 250 also pending. Anchorage Assembly preemptively adopted data center regulations in March 2026 and overrode a mayor's veto on a related partnership. A separate Mat-Su data center plan is in doubt after a mayor veto in March 2026. The bills are responses to growing AI-driven data center interest in Alaska. VERIFIED 2026-05-26: Alaska adjourned sine die May 20, 2026; HB 259 (stuck in House Energy) and SB 250 (never scheduled) both died.

Kansas SB 400 would require data centers to use closed-loop cooling systems (no water evaporation) and authorize municipalities, local district attorneys, and the state attorney general to sue for injunctions against violators. Introduced as part of the 2026 wave of state-level data center water/energy regulation legislation. Kansas is shifting focus from incentives (SB 98 passed in 2025 created a hyperscale sales tax exemption) to environmental regulation. The Kansas City Council changed zoning in January 2026 to make data centers harder to build, signaling local-level pushback complementing state legislation. VERIFIED 2026-05-26: SB 400 (closed-loop cooling / AG enforcement) died in committee when Kansas adjourned sine die April 11, 2026.

HB 4424, filed by House Speaker Kyle Hilbert (R-Bristow), ends data center eligibility for Oklahoma's property tax exemption program — which covers facility property taxes for the first five years — for facilities not operational by January 1, 2027. Hilbert previously authored a 2021 law excluding new data centers from the exemption but now seeks to close loopholes for facilities that qualified before that cutoff. The bill is part of a broader push as Oklahoma residents push back against data center impacts on energy bills, water supplies, and noise. VERIFIED 2026-05-26: HB 4424 (end data center tax exemptions) stalled in House Appropriations & Budget and effectively died; only HB 2992 survived among OK data center bills.

Washington State SB 6231 repeals the retail sales and use tax exemption for refurbishment of existing computer data centers. The law makes purchases of replacement server equipment ineligible for exemption. It preserves tax benefits for new data centers in rural counties where the economic incentive is more needed. The repeal is part of a broader push to rein in data center tax breaks.

Virginia HB 897 requires data centers to use emission-free (non-diesel) backup generators and demonstrate commitment to clean energy to qualify for sales and use tax exemptions. The bill passed the House 61-34 and passed the full Senate, making Virginia one of the first states to condition data center tax incentives on environmental performance. Governor Spanberger signed HB 897 into law on April 9, 2026, alongside HB 284/SB 371 (voluntary demand flexibility programs for high-load customers using 25+ MW) and bills to aid low-income utility customers affected by data center energy demand.