The Seattle City Council voted 9-0 to enact an emergency moratorium on large data center construction. The measure establishes a one-year ban on new projects. Seattle is now the largest U.S. city to implement such a restriction. Mayor Katie Wilson is expected to sign the legislation.
The halt applies to projects with electrical capacity exceeding 20 megavolt-amperes. The city will use this period to study the environmental and economic impacts of these facilities.
Officials cited concerns regarding the city's power grid, water supply, and utility rates. Recent proposals showed new data centers could consume one-third of Seattle's average daily electricity.
The region serves as the headquarters for Amazon and Microsoft. Both companies are leading investors in data center infrastructure for AI and cloud computing.