Memphis Moves Forward on Proposed 12-Month Data Center Moratorium

Earlier today Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro signed an executive order requiring data center projects to be regulated with “strict guardrails to hold data center developers accountable to the public interest” in areas of energy costs, environmental impact, and workforce development. This action is just one on a growing list of legislation fueled by pushback against AI data centers across the country. This evening, the Memphis City Council acted on a yearlong moratorium on new data centers. It is not a done deal yet, and data centers already up and running will be allowed to continue operating under the agreement, but if this passes, no new sites can be built while the city spends a year studying issues related to these projects. You can see the whole document here, but this is the opening of the moratorium: AN ORDINANCE DECLARING A TEMPORARY MORATORIUM ON THE ACCEPTANCE, PROCESSING, APPROVAL, AND ISSUANCE OF ZONING, LAND USE, BUILDING, AND OTHER ASSOCIATED INFRASTRUCTURE PERMITS…