{"id":268,"date":"2026-05-29T21:43:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T21:43:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/northcarolinamovingjournal.com\/?p=268"},"modified":"2026-05-29T21:43:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T21:43:19","slug":"more-cities-are-pressing-pause-on-data-centers-as-local-backlash-grows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/northcarolinamovingjournal.com\/?p=268","title":{"rendered":"More cities are pressing pause on data centers as local backlash grows"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>Hearing backlash from residents, cities and counties across the country in recent weeks have blocked planned data centers amid concerns over rising electricity prices and environmental harms.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/northcarolinamovingjournal.com\/?p=266\">Trump\u2019s \u2018anti-weaponization\u2019 fund blocked for now by federal judge<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The local actions come as state lawmakers also are looking to limit or repeal the incentives for the centers, which are sprawling campuses of computer servers that store and transmit the data behind apps and websites.<\/p>\n<p>Supporters of the pauses say cities need rules before projects arrive, especially to answer residential concerns about electricity use, energy costs and nuisance issues. Industry supporters argue data centers bring jobs and tax revenue and are an essential part of the nation\u2019s digital infrastructure. They warn that communities that block data centers are sacrificing those benefits.<\/p>\n<p>The Denver City Council this month unanimously approved a one-year moratorium on data centers, halting new zoning permits and site development plans while the city drafts rules for future projects. In April, Oklahoma City approved a similar moratorium\u00a0that will be in effect\u00a0until the end of this year, or until the city updates its zoning code. Tulsa, Oklahoma, also approved a temporary stop on new data center construction, though major projects already in the pipeline will be allowed to proceed.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>NC bills target data center boom, seeking tax changes, consumer protections<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"QROx3HeCZ5\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"282\" marginheight=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" scrolling=\"no\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/ncnewsline.com\/2026\/05\/08\/nc-bills-target-data-center-boom-seeking-tax-changes-consumer-protections\/embed\/#?secret=t72ScvkutT#?secret=QROx3HeCZ5\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"\u201cNC bills target data center boom, seeking tax changes, consumer protections\u201d \u2014 NC Newsline\" width=\"500\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Smaller communities\u00a0are taking similar steps.<\/p>\n<p>In Illinois, both Bloomington and Normal earlier this month approved six-month moratoriums, and Morgan County took the same action in April. In Michigan, Huron County this week approved a three-year moratorium, joining roughly 20 other Michigan communities that have paused data center construction.<\/p>\n<p>In Georgia, Camden County enacted a six-month moratorium earlier this month, becoming the first community on the state\u2019s coast to do so. And a cluster of counties in North Carolina have hit pause, including Chatham County in February and Orange County (which includes Chapel Hill) in April.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/northcarolinamovingjournal.com\/?p=264\">NC Democratic Party leader Anderson Clayton runs to the problem \u2013 engaging voters<\/a><\/p>\n<p>But not all cities are souring on data centers: Cheyenne, Wyoming, this week opted not to proceed with a one-year moratorium after a lengthy public hearing.<\/p>\n<p>A study released at the end of 2024 by researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory estimated U.S. data centers used about 4.4% of U.S. electricity in 2023, with projected use rising to between 6.7% and\u00a012% by 2028.<\/p>\n<p>A March Gallup poll found that seven in 10 Americans would oppose the nearby construction of\u00a0data centers for artificial intelligence (AI), higher than the 53% of respondents who said they would oppose living near a nuclear power plant.<\/p>\n<p><em>Stateline reporter Robbie Sequeira can be reached at <span>[email\u00a0protected]<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>This story was originally produced by Stateline, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network which includes NC Newsline, and is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/northcarolinamovingjournal.com\/?p=262\">The feds have embraced medical marijuana. Now what?<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Supporters of the pauses say cities need rules before projects arrive, especially to answer residential concerns about electricity use, energy costs and nuisance issues. Industry supporters argue data centers bring jobs and tax revenue and are an essential part of the nation\u2019s digital infrastructure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":267,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-268","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>More cities are pressing pause on data centers as local backlash grows - North Carolina Moving Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/northcarolinamovingjournal.com\/?p=268\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"More cities are pressing pause on data centers as local backlash grows - North Carolina Moving Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Supporters of the pauses say cities need rules before projects arrive, especially to answer residential concerns about electricity use, energy costs and nuisance issues. 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