Local governments across the US are grappling with balancing artificial intelligence infrastructure growth against resident concerns over electricity demand, water use, land use and community impacts.
In Maryland, the Montgomery County Commission unanimously approved an 18-month moratorium on permits for large-scale data centers and adopted a zoning amendment defining and temporarily prohibiting new hyperscale facilities. The vote came after months of debate over electricity demand, environmental impacts and potential utility rate hikes. New rules define a large data center as a facility or group of facilities with an aggregate monthly electricity demand of at least 25 megawatts and pause new projects while the county develops a longer-term regulatory framework.
Montgomery County is just one of dozens of counties and municipalities that have passed specific legislation to slow or prevent potential data center projects. A Bipartisan Policy Center report released July 29 identified 54 local data center moratoriums nationwide and said at least 15 states have considered statewide moratorium legislation as policymakers search for ways to manage the industry's rapid expansion.
"The real question isn't whether data centers will be built, they will be. It's how to build them responsibly," said Robert Montejo, a Duane Morris partner who represents data center developers nationwide. "The next generation of data centers can be part of the solution, not just another demand center. Many projects are being designed with behind-the-meter generation, renewable energy, battery storage and direct investment in transmission infrastructure that can improve grid reliability and economic growth." [...]
Montejo said predictable regulatory frameworks will increasingly influence where companies invest billions of dollars in AI infrastructure.
"States that provide clear, predictable rules for permitting and energy planning are far more likely to attract the billions of dollars in AI infrastructure investment now flowing into the market," Montejo said. "Broad moratoriums, by contrast, create uncertainty that can cause developers and investors to shift projects to competing jurisdictions with more predictable regulatory environments." [...]
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