Cle Elum passed a data center ban. One might be built there anyway

The Cle Elum City Council has enacted an emergency six-month moratorium on new data center developments in response to a proposal for a 20-megawatt facility by Blue Fern Development. The council's unanimous decision was made to allow time for studying and drafting new regulations concerning the impact of large computing facilities on the city's electricity, water, fire protection, noise, and local economy.

However, city officials, including Councilmember Steven Harper, cautioned that the moratorium might not halt Blue Fern Development's proposed 100,000-square-foot data center. This is because the project is part of a larger residential and commercial development covered by a preexisting agreement. The city still needs to decide if a data center qualifies as an already permitted commercial or industrial use under that agreement. Blue Fern representative Ben Paulus indicated the facility would be a "research sized data center," costing $200 million, employing 20 to 40 people, and utilizing a "closed loop" cooling system.

Puget Sound Energy, the local utility, has reviewed the project and stated it can reliably serve the 20 MW demand, with the developer funding necessary infrastructure upgrades. Despite this, Councilmember Beth Williams emphasized the need to verify Blue Fern's statements regarding the facility's impact. The city plans to form an advisory committee to study various effects, including power capacity, water, wastewater, taxes, and jobs, with a public hearing scheduled for September 8.