MoCo Needs a Data Center Moratorium While Regulations are Crafted
Click "Start Writing" to personalize a letter to the Council and Planning Board urging a moratorium on data centers while strong policies are created. Please write in by March 5th.
(note: use our email tool to contact the Council but please take the extra step to add your testimony to the hearing record - we walk you through it after you take action. Thanks!)
Data centers hold our digital lives, every email and photo that live in the cloud has a home on a chip in a large warehouse somewhere, along with all the computational power used to train ever newer and bigger AI models. All these processes need enormous amounts of power from local grids around the clock and constant cooling with local water supplies.
There is no regulatory framework for the specific land use of data centers in the County or the State yet. ZTA 26-01 proposed by CMs Fani Gonzalez, Balcombe and Sayles does not regulate impacts like energy and water use - far stronger regulations are needed.
- A Gigawatt of power from the grid (=750,000 homes)
- Up to 2 million gallons of the Potomac per day
- A 1.2 Gigawatt equivalent of dirty diesel generators (tested monthly)
The County Executive's community forum on February 3rd and the public hearing for the ZTA on 2/24 allowed residents to share their thoughts about data centers. Those who spoke urged a transparent, deliberative process to carefully balance this entirely new land use with the county's commitment to equity, climate goals and resource protection.
That process is best facilitated with a moratorium on new approvals as have been placed in moratoriums in PG, Frederick, Carroll and Baltimore Counties.
After the community forum, the County Executive said he is leaning toward a moratorium while regulations are put into place. Council President Natali Fani Gonzalez is opposed, as some other Councilmembers may also be.
Your Voices
Write and let them know that a moratorium is the responsible and transparent way forward allowing appropriate time to conduct a comprehensive analysis addressing the complexities of this land use. Voice your concerns.
Click "Start Writing" to personalize a letter to the Executive and Councilmembers
Related: Where are the industrially zoned areas in the county that data centers could be sited under this ZTA - more than you'd think.
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