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Data center thermal impact and community protection act (HB 2652, MI)
Requires data center operators, 120 days before commencing construction / modification, to submit thermal impact assessments to the public service commission, including all mitigation methods considered. The commission will distribute assessments to local governments and planning / zoning commissions to use in planning decisions. Key sections of assessments to be made public.
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Protecting Local Control of Data Centers Act (H.R.10119, US)
Prohibits Federal agencies from preempting State or local land-use, zoning, siting, or permitting authority for data centers located on non-Federal land, or conditioning the receipt of Federal funds for such data centers on a State or local government relinquishing or limiting such authority.
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SALDO and Zoning and Data Centers, Oh My! — Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services
Zoning ordinances and subdivision and land development ordinances (SALDO) let counties and municipalities decide where data centers can be built. They set standards for setbacks, noise, water use and decommissioning. Compares how West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania adopt each ordinance. Covers rezoning requests and ballot referendums. Notes West Virginia's House Bill 2014, which blocks local…
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Thor sues Urbana in federal court – Urbana Daily Citizen
Thor Equities sued Urbana, Ohio in federal court on June 19, days after the city council reversed zoning for its planned data center. Thor says it invested more than $19.6 million and assembled 230 acres after the city annexed and rezoned the land for the project.
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Largest Data Center Project Ever Proposed Is Officially Dead
Blackstone-owned QTS Realty Trust drops its appeal to the Virginia Supreme Court, ending the Prince William Digital Gateway data center project. The withdrawal closes a three-year legal fight over a planned 2,100-acre, 37-building campus in Prince William County, Virginia, once estimated at $100 billion and billed as the largest data center complex in the world.
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How Dominion is thinking about nuclear for data centers
Dominion Energy, which serves Virginia's "data center alley," is navigating growing hyperscaler demand for nuclear power while facing significant construction and permitting barriers. The utility forecasts 15 GW of data center load by 2040 and is building over 50 new substations, but acknowledges that small modular reactors (SMRs) won't enter its generation mix for about…
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Controversial Oldham County Data Center Project Dropped After Backlash
After months of intense community opposition, Western Hospitality Partners withdrew its proposed data center in Oldham County, Kentucky, shortly after county officials approved a 150-day moratorium on new data center applications to allow time to update local land-use rules. The developer attributed its withdrawal to community opposition, making the outcome a notable example of grassroots…
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Google Data Centers in Chesterfield, Virginia
Google Data Centers in Chesterfield, Virginia tracks three proposed Google data center campuses—Peanut, Skye, and Loch—and brings together information on their locations, land purchases, water use, permitting, tax agreements, local approvals, wetlands impacts, and community concerns. A major theme is transparency, documenting information gaps, redacted agreements, an NDA between Google and county officials, and permit…
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Ask a Scientist: A Data Center Was Proposed in My Town. Now What? – Union of Concerned Scientists
When a data center is proposed, communities have multiple opportunities to get involved—from local permitting and public utility commission proceedings to demanding transparency about energy, water, emissions, and costs. The piece encourages residents to organize early and push for ratepayer protections, clean energy, less-polluting backup power, and greater public accountability rather than accepting data center…
Exposing AI Data Center Threats and Harms