Dubuque pauses large data center construction for 6 months
The Dubuque City Council has enacted a six-month moratorium on "hyperscale" data center construction. This temporary halt allows the city's Attorney's Office to develop a comprehensive, long-term ordinance to govern future data center development within the city.
The Dubuque City Council unanimously adopted a six-month moratorium on "hyperscale" data center development during its Monday meeting. This temporary measure will halt new construction of facilities meeting specific criteria, including those 100,000 square feet or larger, with an electrical demand exceeding 75 megawatts, a server count of 5,000 or more, or water usage exceeding 50 gallons per minute for cooling.
Simultaneously, the council directed the City Attorney's Office to draft a long-term ordinance to regulate future data center projects. This ordinance is expected to be presented at a subsequent meeting. Currently, the City of Dubuque has not received any formal annexation petitions, site plans, utility requests, or development agreements for data centers within its limits.