Plain-English framing. A 'moratorium' is just a local time-out on issuing new permits — typically 60-day, 180-day, or 1-year. The county uses the pause to write new zoning or impact-fee rules; if the rules don't get written before the moratorium expires, the moratorium usually gets extended. So these clusters of new moratoriums signal two things: (a) counties feel under-equipped for the volume of data-center proposals they're receiving, and (b) local political pressure on water and electricity bills is strong enough to move county commissions in places that have never had a data-center fight before. The Pulaski County AR proposal is the most structurally interesting because it threshold-gates the moratorium: only data centers, AI compute, crypto mining, or blockchain facilities over 5 MW *and* over 100,000 gal/day are covered. A small edge or colo facility under either threshold could still proceed. That's the first 'cutoff-based' moratorium template — most others are categorical (data centers full stop). Sources: WHQR/WFAE 'Surry County enacts 60-day data center development moratorium' (June 3); WRDW/WIS-TV 'Newberry County passes 1-year data center moratorium' (June 3-5); 10TV 'Grove City passes a 1-year moratorium on data centers'; Arkansas Times 'County to get second bite at moratorium on data center project' (June 4); WALB 'Lee Co. commissioners consider extending moratorium on data center ordinance' (May 27).
Primary source · WHQR / WRDW / 10TV / Arkansas Times / WALB ↗
Why it matters
The local-moratorium map is now diverging from the state-tariff map. State tariffs are converging (Oregon ≈ Pennsylvania ≈ Wisconsin ≈ Florida on the structural template). Local moratoriums are diverging — different durations, different thresholds, different replacement ordinances. For Cliff, that means the state-level layer of the regulatory knowledge graph can be modeled in 5-10 canonical templates, but the county/municipal layer has to be modeled as a per-jurisdiction tracker. The Pulaski County 'threshold-based' moratorium is also the first time we've seen the regulatory framing acknowledge a difference between AI compute and crypto/blockchain. That distinction is going to matter for siting decisions — once enough counties carve out 'AI' specifically (with friendlier rules than crypto), large hyperscaler projects will route toward those jurisdictions and the moratorium map becomes a routing tool, not just a risk tool.
Related filings
T-8 to Jul 10 ERCOT ILLE Form W deadline / Form W Part A now posted Large Load Integration page / notarized to TSP DSP / miss = 438000 MW proposed queue 89% data centers 3-5 years slower / Jul 24 TSP DSP to ERCOT step 2 / Microsoft Fairwater Mount Pleasant WI fully operational Jun 23 / 3.3B first phase / Brad Smith world's most powerful supercomputer / MISO not PJM / low friction state routing / 550 FTE 10000 construction workers / capex not slowing on T+0 morning / state-vs-federal misalignment produces geographic sorting
Plain-English background on the operational track. Yesterday's newsletter covered the regulatory calendar (VA tax, IL DCIP freeze, FL SB 484, Trump EO 14318, PJM auction open, ERCOT Batch Zero deadlines, Abbott Texas memo). Today's operational read is about...
Minneapolis 5-month moratorium / passed Jun 25 / 350k sqft + downtown geographic exemption (I-35W / I-94 / Plymouth Ave / Mississippi River) / first size+geo combined exemption mechanic / Inver Grove Heights 1-year moratorium / passed 3-2 Jun 26 / QLevr 54k sqft Carmen Ave / $150M damages letter Iverson Rivers Law Firm / EAW petition filed Jun 25 / second large-damages-threat moratorium-still-passed / MN becomes 4th state cluster / MISO show-cause territory
Plain-English background. Minnesota sits in MISO (Midcontinent Independent System Operator) — the same RTO that just received FERC's June 18 show-cause order on large-load tariff design. Minnesota's data center growth had been more measured than...
FERC show cause orders Jun 18 / Section 206 / PJM MISO SPP CAISO ISO-NE NYISO / 30-day informational report Jul 20 / 60-day tariff response Aug 17 / 90-day abeyance request Aug 3 / five reform categories / cost-shift prevention is the big one / colocation + BTMG rules / flexible-load transmission services
Plain-English version. On June 18, 2026, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC, the federal regulator with jurisdiction over the interstate transmission grid) used Section 206 of the Federal Power Act to issue what are called 'show-cause orders'...
OK / HB 2992 / 5th state ratepayer protection / 75 MW threshold
HB 2992 is structurally different from the other four state-level ratepayer-protection actions in the May cluster. Pennsylvania's May 8 PUC model tariff is regulator-issued guidance (binding on the four PA investor-owned utilities only after...