The Buildout Is Splitting in Two

On Monday night, union construction workers packed Joliet City Hall thirty minutes before the meeting started. Overflow seating filled up. People watched from televisions in the hallway. The public hearing ran past midnight, more than six hours of testimony, and had to be recessed because Illinois law prohibits public meetings on election days.

When the council reconvened Thursday, they voted 8-1 to approve the largest data center campus in the state.

On Wednesday, one time zone west, Tulsa's city council voted unanimously to freeze all new data center construction through December 31.

Same week. Same industry. Opposite outcomes.

This is the story of the data center buildout in 2026: a market splitting down the middle, with some jurisdictions racing to lock in projects before the political window closes and others slamming the door as fast as they can.

If you're building, buying equipment, or financing these projects, the question isn't whether the $2.3 trillion pipeline will get built. It's where, and the answer is changing faster than most people realize.

The Joliet Technology Center is a $20 billion bet on the Midwest.

The numbers: 795 acres. 24 buildings across four sub-campuses. 6.9 million square feet. 1.8 gigawatts of power at full capacity, nearly the entire output of the Hoover Dam.

The developers, Dallas-based Hillwood Investment Properties and McLean-based PowerHouse Data Centers, haven't named their tenants. But city officials let slip that Microsoft and Meta are possibilities.

What Joliet gets in return:

What nearly killed it: six-plus hours of public testimony, most of it opposed. Residents raised concerns about electricity rates, water usage (capped at 150,000 gallons per day), noise, environmental impacts, and the speed of the approval process. One resident called the timeline "disgusting" given the lack of Spanish-language materials for Joliet's Hispanic community. Another said, "I believe this is war for everything we stand for."

What got it over the line: the building trades.

Doc Gregory, president of Will-Grundy Building Trades (25,000 members), told the council: "Union jobs matter to the community. We are not just temporary. We are full time. We go to dinners and we go to the Rialto Theater."

The lone "no" vote: District 5 Councilwoman Suzanna Ibarra, whose district includes the proposed site. "My district has been the dumping ground for what other districts don't want," she said.

Construction begins late 2026 or early 2027. First sub-campus operational by 2028. Full buildout by 2032.

The playbook: Joliet worked because the developers front-loaded the community benefits (the $100 million payment, the union jobs commitment, the property tax projections), got the building trades on their side early, and pushed through a compressed approval timeline that gave opponents less time to organize. The public hearing was brutal, but it didn't change the outcome.

Tulsa's moratorium passed unanimously, but it almost went further.

Councilwoman Jackie Dutton called for an indefinite moratorium, not a nine-month pause. She cited concerns that data centers are being located in the city's most underserved communities.

"The economic data with data centers does not support that they are revenue generators for the city as a whole," Dutton said. "We don't know what the impact is for those local residents where the data center is going to be."

The compromise: a nine-month freeze through December 31, with the planning office required to report back every 60 days.

What's exempted: Project Anthem, a large data center already under construction in East Tulsa. Phase 2 of that project goes before the Planning Commission on April 1.

What killed the deal for everyone else: the city doesn't have regulations in place. No zoning standards. No environmental requirements. No playbook.

"We are business-friendly," said Councilwoman Laura Bellis, who proposed the original one-year moratorium. "We want industry here. We want to diversify. We know we need to. But to do it in a smart, balanced way is really pragmatic."

The lesson: Tulsa isn't anti-data center. It's anti-chaos. The moratorium buys time for the city to write rules. If you're a developer with a project in the pipeline, the question is whether you can wait nine months, or whether you move to a jurisdiction that's already made up its mind.

On Sunday, March 23, three separate jurisdictions passed data center moratoriums:

Baltimore, MD: City Council introduced legislation for a one-year pause on large data center construction. Councilman Zeke Cohen said allowing data centers "without understanding the environmental impacts on our air and water would be a slap in the face of all Baltimoreans."

Boone County: Moratorium approved.

Washington County: Resolution 26-03-02 approved.

That's three in a single evening. And it wasn't coordinated, it's just where the political temperature is right now.

On Tuesday, Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced the Artificial Intelligence Data Center Moratorium Act of 2026.

The bill would halt all new AI data center construction until Congress passes legislation on worker protections, environmental safeguards, and utility rate impacts.

It won't pass. Republicans control Congress. The Trump administration is pushing faster permitting, not slower. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum called moratoriums a "surrender flag" to China.

Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) broke with his party within hours: "I refuse to help hand the lead in AI to China."

But Sanders and AOC aren't trying to pass a law. They're trying to nationalize an issue.

And the numbers back them up:

This isn't a fringe movement. It's a political fault line.

Georgia's SB 410 passed the Senate 32-21 on Crossover Day (March 6). It's now in the House. Session ends April 2, five days from now.

What the bill does:

What the bill doesn't do:

The consumer protections aren't codified into law. They're in the preamble.

During a committee hearing, bill sponsor Matt Brass (R-Newnan) acknowledged the protective language "will be in the notes to the code" meaning judges could use it to interpret the law, but it's not enforceable on its own.

Senator Elena Parent (D-Atlanta): "The public understands what is going on here and we are giving them the middle finger."

Why it matters:

Georgia is the fastest-growing data center market in the country. Over 200 data centers already operate there. The state estimates it's losing $2.5 billion per year in tax exemptions, 664% higher than the prior estimate of $327 million.

Georgian energy bills have increased approximately $45 per month in the past year. The Georgia Public Service Commission approved 10 gigawatts of new power generation in December, mostly to serve data centers. State regulators estimate Georgia Power needs $3.4 billion in additional annual revenue by 2031. The Southern Environmental Law Center estimates customers will pay $50-60 billion over the next 50 years for data center infrastructure.

Governor Kemp vetoed a similar bill in 2024. He hasn't taken a public position on SB 410. The bill was written specifically to address his previous concerns, grandfathering existing certificates rather than eliminating them outright.

Bottom line: If SB 410 passes, Georgia remains open for business — but the free ride ends. If it dies in the House, the political pressure doesn't go away. It just moves to 2027.

Joliet, IL — 1.8GW, 795 acres, 8-1 vote (March 20)

Yorkville, IL — 550 acres, 16 buildings, "Project Steel" (March 25). Developer pays $40 million in impact fees upfront. This is Yorkville's third approved data center.

Apple Valley, MN — Planning Commission recommended denial of the 1 million sq ft Technology Park (March 18). The property owner, Rockport LLC, withdrew consent for rezoning entirely on March 10. City Council vote was yesterday (March 26).

Why this matters: The developer didn't wait for a formal rejection. When the comprehensive plan amendment was denied in January and citizen opposition mounted, Rockport pulled the plug. That's a pattern worth watching, projects dying not from "no" votes but from developers reading the room and walking away.

Sangamon County, IL — Board voted 15-13 to table a $500 million CyrusOne project in Talkington Township (March 23). Residents asked the board to wait for potential state-level rules. This would have been the first major data center in central Illinois.

New Orleans, LA — Planning Commission deferred zoning recommendation to April 28 as residents pushed for a permanent ban.

Tulsa, OK — Unanimous, 9 months through December 31

Baltimore, MD — One-year pause introduced

Boone County — Passed

Washington County — Passed

Detroit, MI — Mayor Sheffield reviewing City Council's 6-2 resolution requesting a 2-year freeze. The city has also received a proposal for a data center on city-owned land near the Stellantis Jeep plant.

While the statewide moratorium stalled, Minnesota lawmakers are advancing bipartisan legislation to ban non-disclosure agreements between local governments and data center developers.

The Senate committee approved the NDA ban 8-2 on March 17. A similar House measure advanced to the floor after unanimous committee approval.

Senator Erin Maye Quade (DFL-Apple Valley): "This isn't about how we feel about data centers. It's about government transparency. Minnesotans have a right to know what their elected officials are doing. We cannot let code names, aliases, and NDAs become the norm in Minnesota."

In Rosemount, a data center known as "Project Bigfoot" was approved without public disclosure that it was a Meta facility until after the city council vote.

The bipartisan sponsors prompted jokes on the floor. Senator Heather Gustafson (DFL-Vadnais Heights): "Can we all celebrate a Maye Quade-Drazkowski bill?"

Why this matters for developers: NDA bans don't stop projects. But they change the timeline. If you can't keep a project secret during site acquisition and permitting, citizen opposition organizes earlier. That's the whole point.

Voters, not councils, not planning commissions, will decide data center policy in at least five jurisdictions this year:

Monterey Park, CA (June 2) Measure NDC would prohibit data centers citywide. This is a direct democracy vote on whether the city wants this industry at all.

Port Washington, WI (April 7) Would require voter approval for tax incremental districts over $10 million. Triggered by the proposed OpenAI/Oracle/Vantage $15 billion campus.

Augusta Township, MI (Date TBD) Veto referendum on rezoning 522 acres for a proposed data center.

Boulder City, NV (Date TBD) Question 1 would allow data centers in the Eldorado Valley Transfer Area, a rare pro-development ballot measure.

Janesville, WI (November) Would require voter approval for projects over $450 million.

An Ohio statewide initiative is also in the signature-gathering phase, it would prohibit construction of data centers exceeding 25 megawatts.

The question everyone's asking. Here's the honest answer:

Wide open (for now):

Open but narrowing:

Closing fast:

Already difficult:

The pattern: Projects with union labor commitments, front-loaded community payments, and compressed approval timelines are getting through. Projects that rely on secrecy, extended negotiations, or NDA-protected site acquisition are increasingly vulnerable.

April 1 — Tulsa Planning Commission votes on Project Anthem Phase 2

April 2 — Georgia legislative session ends (SB 410 must pass House or die)

April 7 — Port Washington, WI votes on TID referendum

April 17 — PJM reply briefs due to FERC

April 28 — Birmingham, AL public hearing on citywide ordinance

April 28 — New Orleans Planning Commission resumes zoning discussion

June 2 — Monterey Park, CA votes on Measure NDC (citywide data center ban)

The data center buildout isn't slowing down. But it's concentrating.

Some markets are racing to get projects approved before the political window closes. Others are racing to close that window.

Joliet said yes to 1.8 gigawatts while the clock struck midnight. Tulsa said no, unanimously, two days later. Three more jurisdictions passed moratoriums in a single night.

The Sanders-AOC bill won't become law. But it signals something important: data center resistance is no longer a local nuisance. It's a national political issue with 100+ communities, 12 states, and now Congress on the record.

The projects that get built from here will be the ones that move fastest, pay the most upfront, and pick their markets wisely.

Know which markets are still in play.

That's all for Issue #11.

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Edem

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