Local governments are trying to figure out ways to stop data center development, or at least hit the pause button for a while.
The city of Chesapeake is hitting the pause button on data centers, declaring an eight-month moratorium while they craft new regulations for the water-guzzling, power-hungry facilities. Michelle Ueltschi at the Chesapeake Climate Action Network says data centers have been able to develop “by-right” in Chesapeake without getting a vote of the City Council.
“This loophole only existed because data centers are such a new thing that they hadn’t been written into the city code yet,” Ueltschi says. “So now that they’re adding a special section for data centers and requiring them to get a permit, every single project will have to go through city council, where it will receive public input, which is always a good thing.”…