Data centers are eyeing Nebraska. Here’s how counties are responding
Gage County's Planning Commission recommended an 18-month data center moratorium amidst local opposition regarding environmental and resource concerns. Across Nebraska, many counties are proposing or enacting moratoriums and updating zoning regulations, spurred partly by state legislation (LB1261) that facilitates private power development for large industrial customers, including data centers. This legislation has drawn criticism for fast-tracking data center approvals without sufficient environmental safeguards.
Nebraska counties are actively responding to a surge in data center interest, with many considering or enacting moratoriums and updating zoning regulations. In Gage County, the Planning Commission unanimously recommended an 18-month moratorium on data centers following a packed public meeting where constituents raised significant environmental concerns, particularly regarding water and electricity usage. This recommendation now awaits consideration by the county's Board of Supervisors. Garfield County is also in the process of adding a moratorium, while ten other Nebraska counties, including Butler, Box Butte, Custer, Dundy, Furnas, Hayes, Harlan, Johnson, Otoe, and Seward, already have moratoriums in place. Four more counties are considering them as temporary measures.
These local actions coincide with broader legislative developments, notably the passage of LB1261 in the recent legislative session, championed by Governor Jim Pillen. This bill creates a framework allowing private power developers like Tenaska, which is involved in a Google data center project near Lincoln, to build generating capacity for industrial customers needing over 1,000 megawatts, circumventing some eminent domain rules for public power districts. Senator Barry DeKay, who sponsored the bill, stated it protects public power ratepayers by placing the financial onus of infrastructure development on private entities. Conversely, Senator Danielle Conrad filibustered the bill, arguing it fast-tracks approvals with preferential tax treatment, corporate welfare, and insufficient environmental protections.
Many counties, including Keith, are revising their comprehensive plans to account for data centers, acknowledging they cannot be stopped but can be regulated. However, opinions vary among counties without specific regulations; Clay and Cuming counties would deny applications, while Brown and Johnson counties would allow them with special use permits. The Nebraska Association of County Officials has established a working group to develop a land use permitting toolkit to assist counties in navigating these new laws.