Data Center Moratoriums
As AI-driven demand pushes data center construction to record levels, communities are responding with zoning and regulatory action. We track 321 moratoriums and restrictions across 32 states.
261
Currently in force
321
Tracked since 2024
32
States with restrictions
17
States with pending legislation
Tracked counts every moratorium, ban, or restriction recorded since 2024, including those that have since expired, been repealed, or been struck down. In force counts only those active today. Figures current as of September 1, 2026.
Moratoriums by State
At least 321 moratoriums have been tracked across 32 states. New Jersey leads with 72 (69 municipal bans), followed by Ohio (35), Michigan (35), and Georgia (28). Scan the table below to see what is restricted where.
Moratoriums tracked
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1–3
4–7
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| #▲ | State▲ | Tracked▲ | What is restricted |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Jersey | 72 | 69 municipalities have banned data centers (Pinelands Alliance count). Fair Share Act signed July 7. Energy/water reporting law signed Aug 28. |
| 2 | Michigan | 35 | 35+ local moratoriums including Ypsilanti Twp (Aug 2026). HB 5594–5596 statewide bills in committee. Gov. Whitmer opposes. |
| 3 | Ohio | 35 | Local moratoriums in 35 townships/cities. Multiple counties with permanent ordinances. |
| 4 | Georgia | 28 | 34 counties + 23 cities with ordinances. Savannah 155-day pause (Aug 2026). Atlanta, Palmetto, Fayetteville prohibited. |
| 5 | North Carolina | 20 | 19 local moratoriums across Piedmont and western counties. H 1189 (2-year statewide moratorium for 100 MW+) in committee. |
| 6 | Indiana | 13 | Indianapolis moratorium through 2027 (Aug 19). 20+ counties restricting. Marshall & Cass banned outright. Meta & Amazon building $25B+. |
| 7 | Iowa | 12 | 12 local moratoriums, mostly in central Iowa counties near the Des Moines metro. |
| 8 | Washington | 11 | Seattle & Spokane 1-year pauses (June 2026). Grant County PUD waitlists for new connections. |
| 9 | New York | 10 | First statewide moratorium: EO 62 signed July 14 (50 MW+). 5+ local moratoriums including Tonawanda, Mohawk, East Greenbush, Clay. |
| 10 | Kansas | 8 | 8 moratoriums in rural western Kansas counties. |
| 11 | Colorado | 7 | Denver 1-year moratorium (May 2026). Broomfield 18-month pause (July 2026). Additional Front Range restrictions. |
| 12 | North Dakota | 7 | 7 local moratoriums near Applied Digital Polaris Forge campuses. |
| 13 | Tennessee | 7 | Nashville moratorium through Dec 1, 2026. HB 1847 cost-responsibility law signed. 6 additional moratoriums. |
| 14 | Alabama | 6 | 6 city moratoriums: Leeds, Homewood, Springville, Chelsea, Westover. Birmingham adopted zoning. SB 270 (PSC review) pending. |
| 15 | Florida | 6 | Lakeland 1-year pause (Aug 2026). Palm Beach County froze applications. Washington County 1-year pause (Aug 2026). Sarasota pause. SB 484 signed. |
| 16 | Maryland | 5 | Prince George’s County 2-year pause. Baltimore 1-year pause. Frederick County overlay zone. |
| 17 | Minnesota | 4 | Minneapolis moratorium approved June 25. HF 4888 statewide bill in committee. |
| 18 | Oregon | 4 | Hillsboro 120-day moratorium (July 2026). HB 4084 paused tax incentives (June 2026). Salem pursuing moratorium. Statewide bill proposed for 2027. |
| 19 | Texas | 4 | Gov. Abbott halted new grid connections Aug 3 pending PUCT/ERCOT audit. San Marcos first TX city to ban. Lockhart & Kerrville restricting zones. |
| 20 | California | 3 | Monterey Park permanent ban. Bay Area conditional use. Palm Springs moratorium proposed (Aug 2026). SB 886 tariff bill in Assembly. |
| 21 | Illinois | 3 | Normal rejected a project. Tax incentives paused July 1. |
| 22 | Nevada | 3 | Reno moratorium extended into 2027. |
| 23 | Oklahoma | 3 | Oklahoma City immediate moratorium (April 2026). SB 1488 statewide bill in committee. HB 2992 ratepayer protection signed. |
| 24 | Virginia | 3 | Loudoun County ended by-right zoning. $0.011/kWh tax enacted. 60+ bills introduced. |
| 25 | Massachusetts | 2 | Mansfield banned despite no developer interest. |
| 26 | Missouri | 2 | Jackson County and Springfield moratoriums. |
| 27 | Pennsylvania | 2 | Gregg Twp 180-day moratorium (Aug 2026). HB 2496 (municipal pause authority) passed House 201-1. |
| 28 | Wisconsin | 2 | LRB 6377 pre-filed. Local concerns near the Mount Pleasant Microsoft campus. |
| 29 | Arizona | 1 | Tax incentives paused June 13. |
| 30 | Maine | 1 | LD 307 statewide moratorium vetoed by Gov. Mills. LD 713 excluded DCs from tax incentives (signed). |
| 31 | South Dakota | 1 | SB 135/HB 1038 enacted — disclosure & cost-allocation. SB 232 statewide moratorium tabled. |
| 32 | Vermont | 1 | S.205 moratorium until 2030 — in committee. |
Regulatory Actions & Restrictions
New York became the first state to enact a statewide moratorium in July 2026. Every moratorium, ban, and restriction we track is listed below — filter by level or expand any row for detail.
| Jurisdiction | Level | Applies to | Duration | Status | Date | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Savannah, GA | Local | 10 MW+ | 155 days | Enacted | Aug 27, 2026 | |
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Savannah City Council unanimously approved a 155-day moratorium on data centers with electrical capacity of 10 MW or more and industrial buildings over 200,000 sq ft. The move follows OpenAI’s announcement of Project Camelia, a 3.2 GW campus in nearby Effingham County. Garden City and Bloomingdale in Chatham County also enacted moratoriums this summer.
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| Gregg Twp (Union Co.), PA | Local | New applications | 180 days | Enacted | Aug 20, 2026 | |
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Gregg Township supervisors unanimously adopted Resolution 2026-03, barring new data center or “technical development” applications for up to 180 days. The pending PNK Group application for a 252,000 sq ft facility at Great Stream Commons is excluded and continues separately.
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| Washington County, FL | Local | New applications | 1 year | Enacted | Aug 20, 2026 | |
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The Board of County Commissioners approved a one-year moratorium on accepting, processing, and approving data center applications while it studies impacts and updates its Land Development Code.
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| Indianapolis (Marion Co.), IN | Local | All new approvals | Through Dec 31, 2027 | Enacted | Aug 19, 2026 | |
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The Metropolitan Development Commission voted 6-0 to enact a moratorium on new data center approvals through December 31, 2027. Marion County joins 20+ Indiana counties with moratoriums. Three already-approved projects (DC Blox, Metrobloks, Sabey) are exempt. Mayor Hogsett proposed $150,000 for an advisory committee to study regulations.
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| Westover, AL | Local | All facilities | 6 months | Enacted | Aug 18, 2026 | |
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The City Council voted unanimously for a six-month moratorium on data centers after residents objected to a proposed campus on more than 450 acres along Highway 280. Westover is the sixth Alabama city to restrict data centers in 2026.
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| Ypsilanti Twp, MI | Local | High-energy uses | 180 days | Enacted | Aug 18, 2026 | |
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The Board of Trustees voted unanimously for a 180-day moratorium on major electric utility infrastructure serving high-energy-demand uses, including hyperscale and mid-sized data centers and AI computing facilities. The township had already paused water service for data centers.
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| Town of Tonawanda, NY | Local | 20 MW+ | 1 year | Enacted | Aug 4, 2026 | |
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The Town Board voted unanimously for a one-year moratorium barring new applications for data centers requiring 20 MW or more. Supervisor John Flynn said the local measure mirrors Executive Order 62 but reaches below the state order’s 50 MW threshold.
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| Texas | State | All new grid connections | Until audit complete | Enacted | Aug 3, 2026 | |
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Governor Abbott directed the PUCT and ERCOT to halt approval of new data center grid connections and conduct a comprehensive audit of all projects in the interconnection queue. ERCOT is tracking over 1,800 projects representing 474 GW—approximately 90% are data centers. The “batch zero” review process was paused pending the broader audit. The directive follows a June 10 letter requiring data centers to disclose water and power usage.
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| Lakeland, FL | Local | New applications | 1 year | Enacted | Aug 3, 2026 | |
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Lakeland approved a one-year pause on new data center applications, the latest Florida locality to restrict development alongside Palm Beach and Sarasota counties.
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| Nashville, TN | Local | New construction | Through Dec 1, 2026 | Enacted | Jul 29, 2026 | |
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Nashville passed a moratorium on new data center construction through December 1, 2026, citing grid capacity and noise concerns in residential areas.
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| New York | State | 50 MW+ | Until GEIS complete (~1 year) | Enacted | Jul 14, 2026 | |
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Governor Hochul signed Executive Order 62 on July 14, creating the nation’s first statewide data center moratorium. State environmental permits are paused for facilities over 50 MW until the Department of Public Service completes a Generic Environmental Impact Statement. The order sets no fixed deadline but the governor characterized it as approximately one year. The legislature’s broader bill (S10642/A11560), which covers 20 MW+ facilities, has not been signed separately.
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| New Jersey | State | 50 MW+ | 10-year commitment | Signed | Jul 7, 2026 | |
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The Data Center Fair Share Act requires operators over 50 MW to commit to 85% of projected power costs for a decade, shifting the risk of stranded grid investment away from other ratepayers.
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| Illinois | State | Tax incentives | Indefinite | Effective | Jul 1, 2026 | |
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Illinois paused its data center tax incentive program effective July 1, 2026. The state had been among the more aggressive users of sales-tax exemptions to attract hyperscale investment.
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| Virginia | State | Large load | Ongoing | Tax enacted | Jun 30, 2026 | |
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A new $0.011/kWh energy consumption tax applies to large-load data centers, capped at $600M per year. A separate moratorium bill (HB 1515) was carried over to the 2027 session. Virginia localities cannot enact blanket moratoriums under state law and must consider each application individually.
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| Arizona | State | Tax incentives | Indefinite | Enacted | Jun 13, 2026 | |
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Arizona paused data center tax incentives effective June 13, 2026, despite hosting one of the largest concentrations of facilities in the West around the Phoenix metro.
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| Federal | Federal | 20 MW+ | Until AI legislation passes | In committee | Mar 2026 | |
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S. 4214, the AI Data Center Moratorium Act, was introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). It would impose a federal moratorium on data centers exceeding 20 MW until legislation addressing AI safety and labor impacts is enacted. It sits with the Senate Commerce Committee with no action scheduled.
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| Maine | State | 20 MW+ | 18 months | Vetoed | 2026 session | |
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LD 307 would have imposed an 18-month moratorium on facilities over 20 MW. Governor Mills vetoed the bill and the legislature’s override attempt failed.
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| Oklahoma | State | All facilities | Until Nov. 2029 | In committee | 2026 session | |
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SB 1488 would impose a statewide construction moratorium until November 2029. It remains in committee.
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| Michigan | State | Statewide | Not specified | In committee | 2026 session | |
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HB 5594–5596 and SB 1018–1020 are statewide moratorium bills currently in committee. Governor Whitmer opposes them, even as Michigan carries 34 local moratoriums — the second-highest count in the country.
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| Vermont, Minnesota & Maryland | State | Varies | Varies | In committee | 2026 session | |
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Statewide moratorium bills have been introduced in all three states and remain in committee. Vermont’s S.205 would run until 2030; Minnesota’s HF 4888 followed the Minneapolis city moratorium.
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| Plainfield, NJ | Local | All zones | Permanent | Banned | Aug 10, 2026 | |
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Plainfield enacted a permanent citywide ban on data centers across all zoning districts. The ordinance prohibits data centers as a principal, accessory, or temporary use in every zone. Plainfield is one of 69 New Jersey municipalities that have now banned data centers, per the Pinelands Alliance.
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| Palm Beach County, FL | Local | Countywide | While drafting rules | Enacted | July 2026 | |
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Commissioners rejected Project Tango on a 5–1 vote after a 12-hour hearing. The county separately voted to freeze all new data center applications countywide while it drafts permanent regulations.
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| Prince George’s County, MD | Local | Hyperscale | 2 years | Enacted | Jul 7, 2026 | |
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The county enacted a two-year pause on hyperscale data center construction, one of the longest local pauses in the Washington, D.C. region.
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| Broomfield, CO | Local | New permits | 18 months | Enacted | Jul 7, 2026 | |
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Broomfield enacted an 18-month pause on new data center permits, joining several Front Range jurisdictions reviewing their zoning codes.
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| Minneapolis, MN | Local | New construction | Not specified | Enacted | Jun 25, 2026 | |
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The city council gave final approval to a moratorium on new data center construction on June 25, 2026. A statewide bill (HF 4888) followed.
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| Hillsboro, OR | Local | New applications | 120 days | Enacted | Jul 27, 2026 | |
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The Hillsboro City Council unanimously adopted a 120-day moratorium on new data center and BESS applications at a special meeting. Hillsboro has 35 existing data centers — more than any other city in Oregon. The moratorium also covers expansions. A 20-member working group will draft policy recommendations.
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| Seattle & Spokane, WA | Local | New permits | 1 year | Enacted | June 2026 | |
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Seattle and Spokane both enacted one-year pauses on new data center permits. Separately, Grant County PUD has waitlisted new large-load connections.
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| Denver, CO | Local | New permits | 1 year | Enacted | May 21, 2026 | |
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Denver City Council unanimously approved CB 26-0431, pausing new data center applications through May 21, 2027. A 20-member working group is developing regulations covering energy use, water consumption, noise, and siting. The CoreSite DE3 facility under construction in Elyria-Swansea is exempt but future phases may be subject to new rules.
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| Baltimore, MD | Local | New permits | 1 year | Enacted | May 12, 2026 | |
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Baltimore enacted a one-year pause on new data center permits while the city conducts a zoning study to determine how the use should be regulated.
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| Oklahoma City, OK | Local | New permits | Expires Dec. 31, 2026 | Enacted | Apr 21, 2026 | |
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The city enacted an immediate moratorium on April 21, 2026, currently set to expire December 31, 2026.
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| Reno, NV | Local | New permits | Into 2027 | Extended | 2026 | |
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Reno extended its existing data center moratorium into 2027.
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| San Marcos, TX | Local | All facilities | Permanent | Banned | 2026 | |
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San Marcos became the first Texas city to ban data centers outright, acting under its home-rule authority. Lockhart and Kerrville have restricted the use in specific zones.
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| Marshall & Cass Counties, IN | Local | All facilities | Permanent | Banned | In force | |
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Both counties have enacted complete permanent bans on new data centers — the strongest local restrictions in a state that has simultaneously attracted more than $25B in data center investment.
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| Monterey Park, CA | Local | All facilities | Permanent | Banned | In force | |
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Monterey Park has a permanent ban on new data center construction. Several Bay Area jurisdictions have instead imposed conditional use requirements.
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| Atlanta (Beltline), Palmetto & Fayetteville, GA | Local | All facilities | Permanent | Prohibited | In force | |
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All three Georgia localities have prohibited new data center construction. Atlanta’s prohibition applies to the Beltline overlay district.
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No restrictions tracked at that level of government.
Why Are Communities Restricting Data Centers?
These are the concerns cited most often in the text of moratorium ordinances themselves.
- Grid Strain
- Hyperscale facilities consume 100–500+ MW — equivalent to small cities. Utilities must build costly new infrastructure to serve them.
- Water Use
- Evaporative cooling draws millions of gallons annually. Two-thirds of new campuses are in high water-stress counties.
- Noise
- Generator testing and cooling systems create industrial-level noise near residential areas and schools.
- Land Use Conflicts
- Server farms replace farmland, forests, or planned mixed-use development with windowless industrial buildings.
- Few Permanent Jobs
- A 100 MW facility may employ only 30–50 full-time workers once construction ends.
- Rate Impacts
- Concerns that grid upgrade costs get spread across all ratepayers, raising bills for residents and small businesses.
- Outdated Zoning
- Existing codes don’t define data centers as a distinct land use, creating regulatory gaps.
The other side
Industry Counterpoint
Industry advocates argue that moratoriums push investment to other states, that data centers generate significant tax revenue (Virginia data centers contribute over $500M in annual property taxes), and that modern facilities are far less impactful than often assumed — especially those using closed-loop cooling, on-site renewable generation, and zero-water-evaporation designs. Amazon’s Indiana project alone is expected to save local households $1 billion over 15 years.
Worried about data centers raising your bill?
Rate impacts are one of the most cited reasons for these restrictions. If your state allows energy choice, you can lock a rate rather than ride out utility increases.
Frequently Asked Questions
How we track this
Counts are compiled from state legislature bill records, county and municipal ordinance filings, planning commission agendas, and regional press coverage, then reconciled monthly. A single jurisdiction is counted once even where it has passed multiple successive extensions. Because moratoriums are frequently extended, amended, or allowed to lapse without public notice, treat these figures as a floor rather than a precise census.