Temporary moratorium placed  on data centers

Not so fast, data centers.

On Monday, the Clarke County Board of Supervisors approved a temporary moratorium on the construction of data centers in the unincorporated areas of Clarke County.

Supervisor Randy Dunbar explained the reason for issuing a temporary moratorium was due to the absence of any county zoning ordinances that pertains to data centers that might be constructed in the county.

He said he felt that the county needed to make a decision now, as far as a temporary moratorium is concerned, or risk having data centers pop up without anyone knowing; Dunbar spoke of smaller data centers, such as portable ones, not larger-scale operations. Similar work has been in recent years in regards to updating zoning ordinances for commercial wind and solar farms.

“They do present a problem. They use a large amount of water… what I think would be the most prudent, [is] putting a moratorium on them. At least until we get something figured out, just like we did with the [wind] turbines,” Dunbar said, adding it would have to be an area where there was enough grid to hook into.

Supervisor Dean Robins motioned to approve the temporary moratorium, and was seconded by Brian Sorensen. Further discussion was had on what tax revenues and assessments would look like on any sort of data center.

Temporary moratoriums are still in place for the construction of commercial wind farms and solar farms in the unincorporated areas of Clarke County. The temporary moratoriums have been in place since June 12, 2023, and Dec. 16, 2024, respectively.

Adair County

Nearby Adair County grappled with data centers in early 2024.

At that time, Applied Digital notified the Adair County supervisors of their intention to build a 200-megawatt data center on land adjacent to NextEra Energy sub-station southeast of Adair, which is hooked into by wind farms in Guthrie and Audubon counties. The project was to consist of two 300,000-square feet buildings with an estimated cost of $1.5-billion.

Concerns included water and electricity - initial water requirements would be 200,000 gallons, that Applied Digital officials told the Adair County Supervisors would be trucked in. Once the centers were up, water requirements would not impact local customers.

They also stated that electric bills would not increase due to the center, as it would connect directly to MidAmerican’s supply associated with the NextEra sub-station.

The supervisors looked into setbacks for data centers, ultimately not passing the third reading of an ordinance to have more time to consult with legal counsel.

Thus far, nothing has moved forward with a data center in Adair County.

The Adair County Free Press contributed to this article.