Pins matching tag:Moratorium

Silicon Ranch plans 260MW Stockton I & II solar projects on ~2,000 acres (4,500-acre total parcel) in north Baldwin County, AL. Power would be purchased by Alabama Power and supplied to Meta's data center operations ~150 miles away in Montgomery. Alabama PSC approved Alabama Power's 25-year PPA with Silicon Ranch in December 2025. Construction set for 2027. Opposition by 'Stop Solar in Stockton' (2,000+ FB members) and 'Friends of Tensaw River.' State Sen. Greg Albritton filed two bills: one-year statewide moratorium on solar farm construction, and another giving county commissions regulation authority.

S.205 would impose moratorium on AI data centers (facilities requiring 100+ MW) through July 1, 2030. Public Utility Commission would study impacts and recommend regulatory framework by January 2027. Faces some opposition from economic development interests. Some concern about potential conflict with December 2025 Trump executive order prohibiting states from regulating AI. Remains in Senate Finance Committee.

Maryland HB 120 (Dels. Fisher, Chisholm, Morgan, Szeliga - all R) would prohibit any person or government unit from constructing or approving construction of a data center until the General Assembly enacts companion co-location legislation tying data centers to new or existing power generation (natural gas, nuclear, or SMRs). Scheduled for committee hearing in early February 2026. Maryland has no cohesive statewide policy; January 2026 reporting indicates additional proposals for PSC operating certificate requirements for large data centers. The Department of Environment, Maryland Energy Administration, and University of Maryland School of Business will produce a data center impact study by September 1, 2026 (climate study bill became law via veto override). HB 560 (separate, Del. Palakovich Karr D) would repeal data center sales/use and property tax exemptions. VERIFIED 2026-05-26: HB 120 (moratorium tying data centers to co-located generation) did not advance out of House Environment & Transportation; MD sine die Apr 13, 2026. The omnibus Utility RELIEF Act (HB 1532) was the surviving vehicle.

Multiple Georgia data center moratorium bills introduced in 2026 session. HB 1012 (Rep. Ruwa Romman) would bar counties and cities from issuing permits for new data centers until March 1, 2027, with exceptions for approvals issued before July 1, 2026. HB 1059 (Rep. Derrick Jackson) would establish a moratorium from July 1, 2026 to December 31, 2028, and create a 14-member Data Center Impact Commission to conduct a three-year study with a final report due October 1, 2029. At least eight Georgia towns and counties have already passed local moratoriums. Industry opposition has been fierce, with a key bill stalling after a last-minute amendment found bipartisan support. HB 1012 stalled in the House Governmental Affairs Committee and did not cross over by the March 6 deadline, effectively killing it for the 2026 session. The moratorium provisions were not included in SB 410 which did pass.

Georgia HB 1059 (Rep. Derrick Jackson D-Tyrone) would have established a moratorium on new data center construction from July 1, 2026 through December 31, 2028, plus a 14-member Data Center Impact Commission. The bill failed to advance during the 2026 legislative session, which ended in early April with Georgia lawmakers passing NO data center bills despite months of debate. The General Assembly left intact ~$2.5B/year in data center tax breaks even after a state report estimated Georgia would miss out on $2.5B in tax revenue in 2026. With no statewide restrictions, county commissions and planning boards remain the front line of defense, and Democrats are reportedly viewing the failure as an electoral gift heading into November 2026. By April 15-18, 2026, advocates reported that around 20 bills aimed at the data center industry introduced during the 2026 Georgia legislative session all failed to pass after the Senate adjourned without action. Failed measures included HB 1012, SB 408, and SB 410, along with HB 1059 (the Data Center Impact Assessment and Development Moratorium Act of 2026). Georgia's data center sales-tax exemption (projected to cost the state $2.5 billion in FY 2026) remains in effect through 2032.

In New York State, New York, New York S.9144 (Senate, Sen. Liz Krueger, Co-prime sponsor Sen. Kristen Gonzalez) / A.10141 (Assembly, Asm. Anna Kelles), introduced February 6, 2026, would impose a moratorium of at least 3 years and 90 days on permits for new data centers designed to use 20+ MW. During the moratorium, the DEC must issue a generic environmental impact statement covering energy, water, air quality, GHG emissions, and e-waste; the PSC must assess rate impacts and protect residential customers from cost increases. Would not affect the public Empire AI research initiative in Buffalo. Described as the 'strongest-in-the-nation' data center moratorium. Additionally, S.6394 (the NY Sustainable Data Centers Act) requires data centers to source 1/3 renewable energy by 2030, 2/3 by 2035, and 100% by 2040. S.8540 (the AC/DC Act) addresses rate classification and cost responsibility for data center operators. Over 100 community, environmental, and faith organizations called for passage of S.9144/A.10141 in a March 2026 letter to Gov. Hochul. [Validation 2026-06-18: status updated to 'passed legislature, awaiting governor signature' per https://earthjustice.org/press/2026/nys-legislature-passes-data-center-moratorium.]

HB 1265 would establish a one-year moratorium on new data center construction and create a study committee examining environmental impacts. Introduced by Rep. Peter Schmidt (D-Dover). Supporters cited that 100,000 sq ft data centers use up to 5 MW of electricity and 5 million gallons of water daily. Committee did not take immediate action after February 11 hearing.

Wisconsin SB 1061 would have imposed a moratorium on new data center construction until the state established a data center planning authority, prohibited cost-shifting to residents, eliminated subsidies, mandated public reporting, required 100% renewable energy, restored PSC planning authority, prohibited NDAs, and created enforcement structures. Introduced Feb 26, 2026 by Sens. Larson and Carpenter with cosponsors Madison, Hong, Moore Omokunde, Clancy, Cruz, and Tenorio. Companion AB 1099 is in the Assembly Energy and Utilities Committee. SB 1061 failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1 on March 23, 2026.

Pennsylvania: Proposes a three-year moratorium on hyperscale data center construction including associated power generation and transmission infrastructure. Multiple legislators involved: Sen. Katie Muth, Sen. Rosemary Brown (R) who supports restricting data centers to industrial zones, and Rep. Jamie Walsh (R) who plans a separate regulatory package. Bipartisan opposition with over 50 planned data centers facing resistance from community groups across the state.

SB 232 would have imposed a one-year moratorium on construction or expansion of hyperscale data centers in South Dakota. The Senate State Affairs Committee voted 5-3 to table the bill on February 18, 2026, with opponents arguing statewide moratoriums improperly limit local government authority. Instead, the legislature passed SB 135, which prohibits the state from limiting local governments' authority to regulate or ban data centers, shifting regulatory power to municipalities and counties.

Multiple Minnesota data center bills are in play. Sen. Jen McEwen (DFL-Duluth) introduced legislation imposing a two-year moratorium on new hyperscale data center permits while the state studies long-term effects. Sen. Erin Maye Quade (DFL-Apple Valley) pursued legislation to prohibit NDAs for data centers and end tax exemptions. Per MultiState's March 2026 tracker, none of the statewide moratorium proposals have passed their originating chamber, though NDA bans have gained traction in committees. Hundreds of opponents rallied at the State Capitol on Feb 18-20, 2026. The City of Eagan passed a one-year moratorium, believed to be the first Minnesota municipality to take such action. Previously, HF 16 (2025 special session) passed and was signed into law (effective June 15, 2025), establishing initial data center regulations. VERIFIED 2026-05-26: Minnesota adjourned sine die May 18, 2026; the statewide moratorium proposals all failed to pass the divided legislature.

Linde Corporation, a NEPA-headquartered infrastructure contractor, is proposing a 682-acre, 20-building data center campus on a ~743-acre parcel the company owns off Route 247 and Flat Rock Road in Clinton Township. The original application was made on April 30th, the same day that the Board of Supervisors voted to enact a 6 month moratorium. On June 3rd, the Clinton Township Planning Commission declared the application incomplete, requiring Linde to resubmit a corrected application, which was later accepted on July 1st. In early September 2026, the proposal was rejected by the Clinton Township Board of Supervisors. \n Clinton Township is unique in that it does not have zoning, but instead relies on Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance (SALDO) as a tool to regulate land development.

DANKO Holdings II, LP and Fishlips, LLC filed a zoning permit application dated April 15, 2026 for a three-building data center complex on John Brady Drive in Muncy Township, Lycoming County, on vacant industrial land near the West Branch Susquehanna River. The site plan shows two 14-pod buildings and one eight-pod building with water tanks and a water treatment facility, about 699,574 square feet of floor area. The township adopted a nine-month data center moratorium, the developer claimed deemed approval in July 2026, and the township says it will contest it; no construction, power deal, completion date or cost has been published.

Governor Janet Mills VETOED LD 307 on April 24, 2026 — "An Act to Establish the Maine Data Center Coordination Council and Place a Temporary Limitation on Certain Data Centers." The bill would have made Maine the first state with a statewide moratorium on new data centers using 20+ MW, freezing approvals through November 1, 2027. Mills cited the bill's failure to exempt a $550M data center project at the former Androscoggin Mill in Jay. The legislature passed LD 307 on April 14 by 79-62 in the House and 21-13 in the Senate, falling short of the two-thirds majority needed for an override. Mills said she will issue an executive order creating a council to study data center impacts.