Despite Huge Economic Boost, Seattle Mayor Wants Moratorium on Data Centers in City

Despite employing over 47,000 people and generating $1.8 billion in state and local tax revenue (2023 figures) in WA statewide, Seattle's new Mayor wants data centers to stay away.

  Mayor Wants a Moratorium on new Data Centers Inside City Limits

According to Geekwire and other sources, Katie Wilson has called for a 'report' that would include a moratorium on the siting, or finding locations, for new data centers.

They are exploding around WA State and Oregon, largely due to the abundance of affordable power, and the region's long tech-related history.

  Wilson Is More Worried about "Environmental Justice"

Wilson put the following statement on Facebook:

“I share community concerns about environmental justice, economic resilience, and impacts of increased costs for Seattle rate payers."

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She also said she is looking to avoid having them located inside city limits. Seattle has about 30 of them, but they are tiny compared to the ones we see in Eastern WA (such as Quincy) and in Oregon.  Her statements came after reports indicate that Seattle Power and Light has been approached by four companies who want to build five large data centers that would utilize enough energy to power 1/3 of Seattle during peak energy consumption.

Wilson misses the point that before any such centers were built, infrastructure needs would be addressed, environmentally and energy-wise.  One of the companies has dropped out of the idea, leaving three others, they are Prologis, Equinix, and Sabey.

While Wilson is supposedly fearful of the effects on energy costs for consumers if such centers were built, as are some environmental groups, the REAL reason Seattle is facing energy cost woes is due to regulations and policies.  Forced electrificiation of new homes and buildings (instead of natural gas) and other strict mandates have placed undue strain on the power grid.

The three data companies have not decided yet if they will formally apply to build the projects. This pushback could result in looking elsewhere.