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Key developments
QTS exits massive Virginia data center campus
QTS withdrew from a planned 2,100-acre data center campus near Manassas National Battlefield that had been envisioned for up to 37 buildings and roughly 22 million square feet. Freedoms Phoenix’s Robert Lee reported that a 2025 circuit court ruling invalidated zoning approvals over public-notice defects, the Virginia Court of Appeals upheld that decision in March 2026, Prince William County supervisors stopped defending the appeal in April, and Compass Datacenters exited in May.
Why it matters
The collapse shows how zoning litigation, local opposition, and utility-cost exposure can kill even the largest AI infrastructure projects after years of planning.
Sources & driving stories
FREEDOMS PHOENIX · Robert Lee
Freedoms Phoenix coverageLocal governments move to pause data centers
Bay County, Florida, commissioners approved a six-month moratorium on data centers using more than 5 MW, with an option to extend it another six months while staff draft permanent rules. Broomfield, Colorado, separately approved an 18-month temporary ban for new data centers of at least 10 MW, and Wausau, Wisconsin’s Plan Commission endorsed first-time zoning rules requiring conditional-use permits, public hearings, and possible water, sound, sustainability, wastewater, thermal, and traffic studies.
Why it matters
Local permitting and land-use controls are becoming the main near-term constraint on data center siting, even in places without pending applications.
Sources & driving stories
THE NEWS HERALD
The News Herald coverageTHE DENVER POST · Corbett Stevenson
The Denver Post coverageWAUSAU PILOT & REVIEW · Shereen Siewert
Wausau Pilot & Review coverageTrinidad signs MOUs for 450 MW projects
Trinidad and Tobago signed memoranda of understanding Friday with Florida-based Hummingbird AI Holdings and New York-based Ernst and Young LLP to begin groundwork for large data center projects. Fortune reported that EY’s framework covers a planned 300 MW data center with third-party partners, while Hummingbird’s agreement covers due diligence and coordination for a proposed 150 MW AI infrastructure and data center facility.
Why it matters
The preliminary deals would bring hyperscale-class load into a Caribbean market already facing chronic water shortages, intermittent supply, and environmental scrutiny.
Sources & driving stories
FORTUNE
Fortune coverageWorth noting
WORTH NOTING
Clean-energy mandates gain traction
Marc Levy reported for Yahoo Finance that New York has legislation on Gov. Kathy Hochul’s desk requiring large data centers to meet renewable benchmarks starting in 2030 and reach at least 90% renewable energy by 2040, while Michigan, Oregon, and Minnesota have recently adopted related requirements; Athol Daily News also reported Massachusetts senators advanced stricter data-center conditions.
WORTH NOTING
Pennsylvania race sharpens data-center divide
Kate Huangpu reported that Gov. Josh Shapiro is tying incentives to his voluntary GRID framework, while Republican Stacy Garrity favors mandatory requirements, a temporary pause, no special tax incentives, and no clean-energy mandate.
WORTH NOTING
Ireland’s data-center load hit 23%
Tom’s Hardware reported new Irish Central Statistics Office data showing data centers consumed 7,663 GWh in 2025, or 23% of national electricity use, despite years of grid restrictions.
Still unclear
OPEN QUESTION
Will moratoriums become durable permitting barriers?
Several local pauses are framed as temporary rulemaking windows, but the QTS collapse shows procedural and community opposition can compound into project-ending risk.
OPEN QUESTION
Can clean-energy rules match AI load timelines?
States are moving toward renewable or on-site-power requirements while developers are seeking hundreds of megawatts quickly, creating tension between climate goals, grid reliability, and build schedules.