By Guardian staff reporter
Publication Date: 2026-06-04 00:17:00
Seattle’s city government is on the verge of passing a year-long ban on the construction of new datacenters, the largest city yet in the US to consider such a moratorium as nationwide backlash grows.
Four companies sought to build five large datacenters in areas serviced by Seattle’s public utility; if approved, they would have consumed approximately a third of the city’s current daily demand for electricity.
On Wednesday, city council committees unanimously passed the moratorium and an accompanying resolution. A full council vote on both measures is expected on Tuesday, which activists see as a formality after weeks of engagement with city officials on the topic. Lawmakers cited the two measures as an effort to protect residents from rising utility costs and environmental hazards. They said they plan to spend the duration of the moratorium drafting regulations tailored to the AI industry’s massive facilities.
The swift response to the proposed datacenters represents a major…
