(Pierre, SD) — A moratorium on data centers failed in the Senate State Affairs Committee on Wednesday. It would have allowed counties, cities and local utilities more time to explore the best ways to construct large data centers. Construction on facilities that consume more than 50 megawatts would have been paused. Two sets of opponents, including paid lobbyists for the companies that operate the data centers and local officials who believe the massive projects should be controlled by local governments instead of the state opposed the measure. The first attempt to table the bill failed, calling attention to the importance of monitoring the massive new buildings, but two other votes effectively killed it.
