Memphis Council Set for Final Vote on Data Center Moratorium Amid Rally Over xAI Facility
The Memphis City Council is scheduled to hold a final vote on October 6, 2026, on a proposed moratorium for new data center development. The pause is intended to give the city time to study impacts and create regulations, amid opposition to xAI's Colossus facility over water use, emissions, noise and community impacts.
The Memphis City Council is scheduled to take a final reading on October 6, 2026, of an ordinance that would temporarily pause new data center development while the city studies environmental and community impacts and develops permanent regulations. The proposal follows concerns that Memphis' current development code lacks specific rules for hyperscale facilities. Councilman JB Smiley Jr. and other council members combined competing proposals into the version now under consideration, including debate over water and energy limits.
Indivisible Memphis plans to rally before the vote, while environmental justice advocates have criticized xAI's Colossus campus in South Memphis over its water consumption, noise and emissions. Protect Our Aquifer reported extensive withdrawals from the Memphis Sand Aquifer and said xAI delayed construction of a planned greywater recycling plant. Earthjustice and the Southern Environmental Law Center have also filed lawsuits alleging that xAI operated 27 unpermitted methane turbines. xAI has generated tax revenue and major economic activity, but officials and residents continue to dispute the project's environmental safeguards and community benefits.