Following the lead of its largest city, Shelby County commissioners debated a proposed ordinance during Wednesday, Oct. 21, committee meetings to regulate data centers in unincorporated areas as a pre-emptive measure, since none currently operate within those jurisdictions.
Memphis City Council passed an ordinance Tuesday, Oct. 20, that serves as a model for the county’s proposal sponsored by Commissioner Amber Huett-Garcia, who represents District 13.
The city’s ordinance requires data centers to implement progressive technology, such as installing closed-loop water systems, phasing out carbon-based energy, and creating a digital infrastructure development district. It also includes a 135-day moratorium on data center applications.
If approved, Huett-Garcia’s proposed regulatory ordinance would put the county on the same track as the city and include water and electricity conservation requirements. Both governments adhere to the same unified development code, and the regulatory roadmap is currently undergoing revisions.
“My intention is that we do that in lockstep since we have a joint planning committee,” said Huett-Garcia, who called her proposal a “first attempt to start a conversation” on data center regulations.
Huett-Garcia’s proposal passed 11-0 in committee. Commissioner Henri Brooks of District 7 abstained and one member was absent.
Local opposition to data centers has mounted amid the continued expansion of SpaceXAI, which operates Colossus I in South Memphis, where Elon Musk purchased a former Electrolux plant to house thousands of Nvidia graphics processing units, or GPUs, hardware used to train chatbots for the AI model Grok.
Huett-Garcia, a first-term commissioner, sought direction from county attorney Craig Barnes and Brett Ragsdale, the county’s planning and development director, among others, during the meeting.
“The (city’s) current ordinance that was approved last night, I think has good framework. What I would consider is a way to combine the two,” said Ragsdale. “If we can, and that is what we are trying to work to, is something that would be an amendment to the unified development code.”
Growing resistance to data centers has spread across the nation in recent months. Over 3,000 are currently operating in the U.S. and another 1,500 are under construction or in the planning stages, according to some estimates.
In Shelby County on Monday, Oct. 19, Millington became the first municipality to approve a moratorium.
Brooks, who introduced a 12-month moratorium during previous committee meetings, presented similar arguments as Council member JB Smiley, who sponsored the city’s ill-fated extended moratorium. Both believe the deliberation process has been rushed and would prefer a year or longer to weigh the pros and cons of data centers.
Concerns related to Musk’s supercomputing facilities include the environmental impact on air quality and the Memphis Sand Aquifer, the underground source of the region’s drinking water. Colossus I uses 15 gas-fueled turbines to power the site and draws around 1 million gallons of fresh water daily to cool its GPUs.
MLGW provides energy to 16 data centers, prompting questions about the strain on the local power grid if the number of data centers continues to climb.
Brooks’ proposed moratorium passed its first reading during an Oct. 12 full commission meeting with a narrow 5-4 vote and four abstentions. Prior to its second reading, she asked if the item could be moved to the full board for a vote. There were no objections. It will be taken up again Monday, Oct. 26.
“In the end, you will see that in the eventuality that a moratorium is passed, this will replace it,” said Huett-Garcia. “So this is not a substitute for Commissioner Brooks’ ordinance that she’s introduced.”
District 12 Commissioner Erika Sugarmon, who represents unincorporated areas of the county, cosponsored Brooks’ proposal as a proponent of an extended moratorium.
“I just want to thank my colleague for bringing this forward, and I do agree that we need to have some regulations in place,” said Sugarmon. “This is a step forward.”
Still, some local officials worry about missing out on tax revenues from data centers if a moratorium is approved. Last year, the county and the city collected a combined $24 million from SpaceXAI. Twenty-five percent of the revenue is legally mandated for investment within a five-mile radius of the facility.
Commissioner Will Richardson, who represents District 8, said he believes the commission aims to balance the benefits of data centers with protections for county residents.
“We want to see an opportunity,” said Richardson, “where we can move forward economically and environmentally.”
