Palm Beach County pauses large data center applications

What the county decided

The Palm Beach County Commission voted 6-0 for a one-year moratorium covering new data center applications with an expected peak electrical demand of at least 50 megawatts.

The measure is not a permanent ban. It pauses consideration of qualifying projects while county officials review their potential effects and prepare updated zoning rules governing where data centers may be built.

Residents raised concerns about environmental damage, constant noise, water use and higher electricity costs. Some urged the commission to prohibit data centers entirely, but the approved measure instead creates a temporary review period.

Project Tango and the federal debate

The county previously approved Project Tango, a proposed 202-acre artificial intelligence data center, in 2016. The site is about 20 miles from Mar-a-Lago and near homes and an elementary school.

In July, commissioners voted 6-1 against expanding Project Tango by about 1.67 million square feet. Existing approvals for two 100,000-square-foot data center buildings remain in effect. Residents told commissioners that the project helped drive calls for the broader moratorium.

Trump has made data center growth and faster development of artificial intelligence part of his administration’s agenda. He argues that the United States must compete with China in artificial intelligence and said on Sept. 4 that communities rejecting data centers would become poorer and face worsening local conditions.

Data centers contain the computer systems used to store and process information and to train and operate artificial intelligence systems. Their large electricity needs are among the issues Palm Beach County plans to examine during the moratorium.