Florida County commissioners have voted in principle for a temporary moratorium on large data centers, after more than 800 emails and nearly 2,000 signatures from local residents.
At a meeting on Tuesday, the commissioners of Orange County, Florida, voted in favor of a temporary moratorium on the establishment of large data centers for artificial intelligence. The length of time will depend on how long the county services take to submit their analyses; the issue could come back before elected officials in early December.
Water dominates the debate. A hyperscale facility can consume up to five million gallons per day, or about 19 million liters, while the county anticipates a deficit of 96 million daily gallons by 2045. Added to this are the electrical load — more than 50 megawatts for large facilities — noise, which can reach 100 decibels, and light pollution. The mobilization of residents weighed in: more than 800 emails calling for a moratorium and nearly 2,000 signatures collected against these projects. Fifth District Commissioner Kelly Martinez Semrad and state congresswoman Anna Eskamani, Democrat of Orlando, raised the subject.
Orange County joins a movement that is already well established in the state: sixteen Florida counties have adopted restrictions, including three permanent bans. Nationwide, hyperscale data centers consumed 17.4 billion gallons of water in 2023, an expected volume of 32.8 billion in 2028.
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