(KIWA Staff Photo)Estherville, Iowa (RI) — Emmet County’s Board of Supervisors has unanimously adopted a one-year moratorium on new data center developments.
Board chair Lisa Hansen of Armstrong says the pause gives the county time to investigate the issue.
Hansen says no company has contacted the county about building a data center, but residents are raising questions about water use, electricity demand, and what could happen during a drought or power shortage.
County officials are currently working on an ordinance governing the placement of solar panels in rural areas. Hansen says the one-year moratorium gives Planning and Zoning officials and the Board of Supervisors time to finish that project and then develop guidelines for a data-center ordinance.
