Mount Pleasant to discuss data center moratorium
Leaders in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, are scheduled to hold the first reading of an ordinance that would establish a temporary moratorium on data center requests. The proposed 120-day moratorium aims to allow town officials time to differentiate between major data centers and smaller facilities, and to address concerns regarding excessive noise and high demand for resources like water and electricity.
Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, is set to discuss a proposed ordinance today that would implement a temporary moratorium on requests for new data centers. The ordinance defines a data center as a facility primarily used for storing, managing, and processing digital data, housing computer and network systems.
The proposed measure stems from concerns outlined in the ordinance's language, which suggests that data centers can create excessive noise and place significant demands on local resources such as water and electricity.
If passed, the ordinance would impose a 120-day moratorium on all data center-related requests. This temporary halt is intended to provide the Town Council and staff sufficient time to establish clear distinctions between large-scale data centers that could have negative environmental impacts and smaller facilities, and to address any regulatory gaps.