News · newest item dated 27 October 2026
News: policy changes
Policy changes, newest first. Each item links to its record and source.
This week. In the 7 days to 30 October 2026: 0 policy actions, 0 updates, 1 correction.
Dates are what each item records: a policy action date, an event or publication date, or the date a correction was made. They are not the dates this page was built.
Policy changeProposed
City of Suffolk, Virginia: proposed zoning amendment listing data centers as a prohibited use in all districts (OTA2026-008) — source document dated 21 October 2026Policy changeProposed
Oakland, California: proposed 10-month, 15-day extension of data center moratorium ordinance (File 27-0178) — source document dated 21 October 2026Policy changeProposed
Loudoun County, Virginia: proposed pause of up to 12 months on Board votes on data center applications — source document dated 20 October 2026Policy changeIn effect
City of Cleveland, Ohio: standalone data center permit pause extended to 29 January 2027 (Emergency Ordinance 1246-2026) — adopted and took effect 19 October 2026Policy changeIn effect
City of Milwaukee, Wisconsin: temporary data-center pause effective 17 October 2026 (File 251924)Policy changeIn effect
Unincorporated Johnson County, Iowa: data-center approval pause extended to 8 August 2027 — adopted and took effect 15 October 2026Policy changeAdopted; effective status unverified
Unincorporated Manatee County, Florida: 12-month pause on new data center development applications (Ordinance 26-42) — adopted 8 October 2026Policy changeProposed
City of Memphis, Tennessee: Ordinance 5985 large-load district proposal on the October 6 agenda — source document dated 6 October 2026Policy changeIn effect
City of Oakland, California: interim data-center moratorium effective 6 October 2026 (27-0050)Policy changeAdopted; effective status unverified
Chicago, Illinois: adopted data center benchmarking ordinance; effect unverified — adopted 23 September 2026Policy changeIn effect
Maryland: Executive Order 01.01.2026.16: data center framework and task force — adopted and took effect 23 September 2026Policy changePending proceeding
Pacific Gas and Electric service territory, California: CPUC draft Resolution E-5455: PG&E energization agreement for a Google data center (pending) — source document dated 22 September 2026Policy changeIn effect
Unincorporated Pima County, Arizona: data center development moratorium (Resolution 2026-56) — adopted and took effect 22 September 2026Policy changeAdopted—not yet effective
California: CEQA applies to data center entitlements — adopted 21 September 2026Policy changeAdopted—not yet effective
California: Commission assessment of data center rate structures — adopted 21 September 2026Policy changeAdopted—not yet effective
California: Commission tariffs for data center interconnection and service — adopted 21 September 2026Policy changeAdopted—not yet effective
California: Data center energy and sound reporting to the Energy Commission and local agencies — adopted 21 September 2026Policy changeAdopted—not yet effective
California: Data center transmission, distribution and generation tariffs required — adopted 21 September 2026Policy changeAdopted—not yet effective
California: Data center water-use estimates and annual water-use reports — adopted 21 September 2026Policy changeAdopted—not yet effective
California: Water conditions before local data center permits — adopted 21 September 2026Policy changeIn effect
Texas: TCEQ data-center permit pause — took effect 21 September 2026Policy changeIn effect
Virginia: Executive Order 22: Virginia Data Center Accountability Framework — adopted and took effect 18 September 2026Policy changeIn effect
City of St. Louis, Missouri: data center zoning regulations (Ordinance 72181) — adopted and took effect 17 September 2026Policy changeIn effect
City of St. Louis, Missouri: no city tax incentives for data centers (Ordinance 72182) — adopted and took effect 17 September 2026Policy changeIn effect
Nevada: Minimum terms for data center tax abatement applications — adopted and took effect 17 September 2026Policy changeProposed
City of Memphis, Tennessee: proposed large-scale data center development standards (Ord. 5986) — source document dated 15 September 2026Policy changeProposed
City of Memphis, Tennessee: proposed temporary data center permit moratorium (Ord. 5982) — source document dated 15 September 2026Policy changeIn effect
Wood County, Wisconsin (all municipalities): notice requirement for large-scale data center projects (Ord. #709) — adopted 15 September 2026Policy changeProposed
City of Boston, Massachusetts: proposed council order on a zoning text amendment to prohibit data centers (Docket 2026-1718) — source document dated 14 September 2026Policy changeIn effect
ERCOT region, Texas: ERCOT data center state and community impact information request — adopted and took effect 14 September 2026Policy changeIn effect
Texas: Water-use reporting enforcement directive — took effect 14 September 2026Policy changeAdopted; effective status unverified
City of Foley, Alabama: six-month moratorium on data center and cryptocurrency mining applications — source document dated 9 September 2026Policy changeIn effect
Virginia: Water withdrawal reports must show water supplied to data centers (9VAC25-200-40) — took effect 9 September 2026Policy changeIn effect
Leola site, FEM Electric Association service area, South Dakota: SD PUC EL24-027: electric provider assigned for the Leola data center — adopted 8 September 2026Policy changeIn effect
Unincorporated Lake County, Illinois: temporary moratorium on data centers — adopted and took effect 8 September 2026Policy changeIn effect
AEP Ohio (Ohio Power Company) service territory, Ohio: AEP Ohio Schedule DCT data center tariff sheets — source document dated 28 August 2026Policy changeIn effect
AEP Ohio service territory, Ohio: PUCO interim SSO rules for AEP Ohio data center customers — took effect 28 August 2026Policy changeAdopted; effective status unverified
Durham County, North Carolina: nine-month moratorium on data centers over 100,000 square feet — source document dated 28 August 2026Policy changeIn effect
New Jersey: End Data Center Tax Credits Act cuts Next New Jersey credits — adopted and took effect 27 August 2026Policy changeIn effect
New Jersey: Semi-annual data center water and energy reports to the BPU — adopted and took effect 27 August 2026Policy changeIn effect
Unincorporated Pierce County, Washington: one-year pause on permits for data centers over 10 MW in unincorporated areas (Ord. O2026-557) — took effect 27 August 2026Policy changeIn effect
Delaware: Large energy use facility rate class and service agreements (85 Del. Laws c. 440) — adopted and took effect 26 August 2026Policy changeIn effect
Delaware: Public bodies barred from data center nondisclosure agreements (85 Del. Laws c. 447) — adopted and took effect 26 August 2026Policy changeInformational—not binding
New Jersey: Local finance guidance on data center community benefits agreements — source document dated 25 August 2026Policy changeIn effect
Big Rivers Electric Corporation and Kenergy Corp. service to the Hawesville data center campus, Hancock County, Kentucky: Big Rivers/Kenergy service agreement for the TeraWulf Hawesville data center approved — adopted 21 August 2026Policy changeIn effect
ERCOT power region, Texas: Order letting ERCOT delay Batch Zero classification during the data-center audit — adopted and took effect 20 August 2026Policy changeIn effect
ERCOT region in Texas: ERCOT large-load interconnection pause — source document dated 20 August 2026Policy changeIn effect
Pennsylvania: Executive Order 2026-05 data center permitting and incentive conditions — adopted and took effect 18 August 2026Policy changeIn effect
Pennsylvania: Revenue program guidelines add GRID consent-order condition — took effect 18 August 2026Policy changeIn effect
Louisville/Jefferson County Metro, Kentucky: temporary data center and telecommunications hotel moratorium — adopted 13 August 2026Policy changeAdopted; effective status unverified
Town of Newport, New York: one-year pause on data center and cryptocurrency mining approvals (Local Law 4 of 2026) — source document dated 13 August 2026Policy changeIn effect
Fort Worth, Texas: water and wastewater criteria for data centers — adopted and took effect 11 August 2026Policy changeInformational—not binding
West Virginia: Responsible Data Center Development Plan (Commerce, August 2026) — source document dated 11 August 2026Policy changeIn effect
Kentucky: Executive Order 2026-494: data center commitments — adopted and took effect 6 August 2026Policy changeIn effect
Lucas County, Iowa: one-year moratorium on data center permitting and construction (5 August 2026 resolution)Policy changePending proceeding
Entergy Louisiana service territory, Louisiana: Entergy Louisiana certification case for the Meta Evest data center (U-37882) — source document dated 4 August 2026Policy changeProposed
Massachusetts: HD.6293 physical AI infrastructure (data center) transparency provisions (filed petition) — source document dated 4 August 2026Policy changeIn effect
Texas: ERCOT approval pause pending audit — took effect 3 August 2026Policy changeIn effect
Tukwila, Washington: one-year moratorium on applications for data centers over 20 MVA (Ordinance 2795) — adopted and took effect 3 August 2026Policy changeIn effect
ERCOT region, Texas: ERCOT definition of Large Computational Load (NPRR 1308) — took effect 1 August 2026