Laurens County pauses Data Centers
Laurens County Council has enacted a 12-month moratorium on new data center permitting and land-use planning. This delay is intended to allow county staff to develop a comprehensive ordinance for data center location and operating standards. The decision followed a public hearing where citizens expressed both opposition and support for data center development.
The Laurens County Council in South Carolina has enacted a 12-month moratorium on permitting and land-use planning for data centers. The decision, adopted following a public hearing on September 14, aims to provide county staff with sufficient time to develop a comprehensive ordinance outlining specific locations and operational standards for data center campuses within the county.
During the public hearing, citizens expressed mixed views. Barbara Mordue advocated for strict standards, including requirements for decommissioning and battery-storage fire suppression plans, while John Parnell called for greater transparency from the county regarding any future data center proposals. Conversely, Dr. Cecil Y. Brown suggested that opposition to data centers might be influenced by "Chinese propaganda," arguing that if data centers were truly harmful, China would not be building so many.
Outgoing Council Member Kemp Younts voiced strong opposition to data centers, describing them as a "cancer to the environment" and expressing a desire to extend the moratorium beyond its initial 12-month period. He stated that "regular people are against them" and accused proponents of being motivated by profit. In a separate but related action, the Laurens County Council also took a first reading on what was described as the state's most restrictive ordinance for solar farm developments, which also limits maximum size to 400 acres and includes buffering and setback requirements, introduced by Council Vice-chairman Matthew Brownlee.