Spokane WA / 1-yr moratorium / Avista trigger / 500 MW MOU

Plain-English framing. Spokane is the second-largest city in Washington State, served by Avista Corp — a small investor-owned utility (about 400,000 electric customers in eastern Washington plus northern Idaho) whose total system load is roughly 1,000 MW. So when Avista signed a non-binding MOU on June 3 to provide 125 MW starting in 2029 with potential expansion to 500 MW by 2032, that one customer would equal about half of all current Spokane County residential and business customers combined. The MOU was disclosed in stages. On June 3 Avista confirmed 'a large load customer' without naming the industry. On June 9 it confirmed the customer is a data center. The proposed location remains confidential under the MOU's NDA. A Change.org petition opposing the project launched almost immediately. One day after the confirmation, the three council members filed the moratorium ordinance. The ordinance would freeze acceptance, processing, review, and approval of any new data center building permit applications for one year while the city updates its Comprehensive Plan, Water Conservation Plan, Water System Plan, and economic development strategy. Mayor Lisa Brown publicly supported the freeze, stating Spokane 'does not currently have the necessary framework to site and permit data centers.'

Primary source · Spokesman-Review / City of Spokane / KXLY ↗