Seattle headed towards ban on large data centers
The Seattle City Council's Land Use and Sustainability Committee has unanimously approved a proposed one-year moratorium on new large-scale data centers, which is expected to go before the full council for approval by June 16. The ban, initially proposed by Mayor Katie Wilson, targets data centers using over 20 megawatts of power due to concerns about electricity and water consumption, as well as potential rate increases for residents. Public feedback has been largely negative, though Amazon engineers supported the regulation, despite the company stating it has no current plans to build data centers in Seattle.
The Seattle City Council is poised to approve a one-year moratorium on new large-scale data centers, following the unanimous approval by the City Council’s Land Use and Sustainability Committee. The measure, which will be considered by the full council as early as June 16, aims to temporarily halt data center developments consuming more than 20 megawatts of power.
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson initially proposed the ban in April after four companies inquired about building such facilities, two of which subsequently withdrew their applications. Councilman Eddie Lin, chair of the Land Use and Sustainability Committee, expressed concerns over the impact of