Seattle data center ban heads to Mayor Wilson's desk
The Seattle City Council has passed a one-year moratorium on new data centers, which will take effect once signed by Mayor Katie Wilson. The ban aims to allow the city to study the impact of data centers on natural resources, public utilities, and jobs. It also includes an energy cap for existing facilities and planned rate changes by Seattle City Light.
The Seattle City Council has unanimously approved a one-year moratorium on new data centers within the city, a measure now awaiting Mayor Katie Wilson's signature to become law. The ban is intended to provide the city with time to assess the environmental impact, public utility strain, and job implications of data centers.
The council's decision, though broadly supported, also highlighted underlying concerns that data centers have become a proxy target for anxieties about artificial intelligence. Councilmember Eddie Lin described the ban as an initial step in regulating the AI industry, while Councilmember Robert Kettle, despite voting for the measure, emphasized the need to support data needs for existing local businesses and government entities.
The moratorium permits existing data centers to continue operations and expand, but it introduces a significant cap on their energy usage, limiting new facilities and expansions to 20 Megavolt-Amperes. This cap, according to Seattle City Light spokesperson Julie Moore, is equivalent to powering approximately 4,000 homes and effectively prevents the development of larger data center projects. Seattle City Light also plans to implement new rate structures for data centers across its service area, including surrounding areas like Burien and Tukwila, to ensure that the costs of new energy infrastructure are borne by tech companies rather than individual ratepayers.
Following the council's vote, a group named Washington AI Resistance unveiled a "Peoples' AI Bill of Rights" at City Hall, signaling ongoing efforts to influence state legislation in 2027 concerning fairness, privacy, transparency, and accountability in AI. The application of the moratorium to data center projects already in Seattle's approval pipeline, some of which are "vested" under previous regulations, remains uncertain.