The Town of Normal is looking to extend its moratorium on data centers for six more months. The town council will vote Monday on a plan to extend the moratorium on accepting any data center permits through May 2027.
In a memo to the council, town staff said there is renewed interest for data center regulation at the state level.
“Any state action on data centers will necessarily affect how the town handles data centers,” states the memo from assistant city manager Brian Day. “All data center regulation was expected to remain at the local level.”
Illinois lawmakers took no action during the spring legislative session on the POWER Act that would impose a range of regulations on the industry, including a requirement that data center companies pay for their own energy and it would have to come from renewable sources.
The legislation was largely supported by clean energy advocates and critics of data center development.
Supporters of the POWER Act have scheduled a lobby day for Nov. 18 at the state capitol, during the fall veto session.
Bloomington
Bloomington's data center moratorium is set to expire in November. Mayor Dan Brady said the city council will want to at least talk about a full-on moratorium against large-scale data centers in the community and perhaps vote on one.
"We've got to at least get something policy-wise on the books that explains how we can tell somebody ‘no,’ when it comes to the City of Bloomington and large-scale data centers, or where we sit and what can be done,” he said.
Brady said a city planning commission policy discussion on data centers set for Oct. 1 will have to be rescheduled. He said the city is checking on the availability of the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts because public interest is so high it's likely the council chambers at the Government Center will be too small.
A second policy discussion will happen in November.
