Seattle passes one-year ban on large AI data centers over power concerns

Seattle has become the largest U.S. city to pass a moratorium on large data centers, voting unanimously on Tuesday to freeze new construction for one year. The move targets facilities exceeding 20 megawatts, following revelations that four unidentified companies were planning five separate projects that would have consumed 369 megawatts from Seattle City Light's grid—roughly one-third of the city's total capacity of about one gigawatt. City Light representative Andy Strong warned of staffing constraints, saying, "We only have so many engineers. We only have so many project managers. It’s going to have an impact." The news alarmed Mayor Katie Wilson, who told the Guardian she first learned of the projects through media reports. The council received 10,000 pro-moratorium emails from residents, fueling unanimous passage.

The moratorium lasts one year with an optional six-month extension, and a companion bill mandates a study of data centers' power, water, land use, and health and employment impacts. Councilmember Eddie Lin emphasized that Seattle should not subsidize "record profits of large corporations from the AI boom" while still supporting smaller co-location facilities essential for 911 centers, hospitals, and research. The ban does not affect smaller facilities under the 20 MW threshold. According to the U.S. Data Center Moratorium Tracker (run by hedge fund Interconnected Capital), at least 111 local moratoria have been enacted nationwide, with 77 currently active. Industry giants Microsoft and Amazon—both headquartered near Seattle—are heavy investors in AI compute infrastructure, but the city's moratorium signals growing pushback against the energy demands of the AI boom.