Memphis Fails to Pass One-Year Data Center Moratorium

Memphis, Tennessee, city council members have rejected a proposed one-year moratorium on data center development but approved a substitute ordinance that would halt construction for 135 days, Lauren Fichten reported for CBS News.

Memphis officials approved a 135-day pause on data center construction after rejecting a proposal for a one-year moratorium amid growing community concerns.  [Photo: SpaceX AI Memphis]

The council meeting was heated, with some members saying they had received the substitute ordinance at short notice and lacked sufficient time to review it.

Residents and activists have opposed data center development in the region for years, beginning with the construction of SpaceXAI’s Colossus 1 facility in 2024.

The company has since built two additional data centers and has two more under construction in Memphis and the surrounding region, including in Southaven, Mississippi.

In Southaven, a power plant using methane gas turbines to supply the company’s data centers has become the focus of a lawsuit filed by the NAACP and other organizations over alleged pollution.

SpaceXAI did not respond to a request for comment, according to CBS News.

The Trump administration had sought to dismiss the case, but a federal judge in Mississippi rejected that bid earlier Tuesday, CBS News reported.

The proposed one-year moratorium would have paused construction of new data centers, giving the city time to develop permanent zoning and development regulations and establish disclosure requirements for applicants.

It would also have allowed officials to study potential effects on air quality, electrical infrastructure, water resources and noise.

The proposal would not have halted existing data center operations.

The substitute ordinance approved by the council is intended to complement an executive order by Memphis Mayor Paul Young establishing a 90-day period to study the effects of data center development.