Baltimore City Council considers data center moratorium

The Baltimore City Council held a hearing to discuss a proposed one-year moratorium on new data centers within the city. The moratorium, if enacted, would temporarily prevent new data center construction while city officials study their impacts on energy infrastructure, ratepayers, the economy, and environmental and health concerns. City Council President Zeke Cohen voiced support for the bill, emphasizing Baltimore's opportunity to lead in establishing careful regulations to prevent disproportionate harm to residents. However, Tom Whelley from the Baltimore Development Corporation expressed concerns during the hearing about the proposed definition of a data center, specifically the 10-megawatt electricity usage threshold. He suggested increasing it to 25 megawatts to align with state-level standards and ensure other, unrelated projects that might meet the 10MW criteria are not unintentionally swept into the moratorium. Cohen later clarified that the bill's language was clear in distinguishing data centers from other facilities. Several residents and advocates also spoke in favor of the moratorium during public comment.