The tally crossed a symbolic line this week. The Information counts more than 500 US jurisdictions now banning or restricting new data centres, with over 150 local bans passed in July alone. A separate review by Heatmap News puts the number of restrictive local laws above 530 across 42 states, nearly 190 of them since 1 June.
Heatmap also counts more than 50 cancelled data centres so far this year, over double the 2025 pace. In contested cases, roughly 71% of proposals were scrapped in Michigan and 56% in Indiana. “The rates are accelerating,” said Peter Freed, a former Meta energy strategy director now at Near Horizon Group.
From zoning fights to statewide chokepoints
What changed this summer is that states joined in. On 14 July, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed Executive Order 62. It freezes environmental permits for any data centre of 50 megawatts or more for a year. That made New York the first state to pull the lever itself.
Texas followed with a softer move. Governor Greg Abbott told state agencies to halt approvals pending audits of power and water demand. There is no fixed end date and no law behind it yet. Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller called the directive “all hat and no cattle” and pushed for a special legislative session.
