County briefs · data through October 23, 2026

County briefs

A county brief gathers what a county's governments have decided about data centers: each approval and adverse action with the government that made it, what each approval required, cited to the document, and what is pending or expiring. Three short summaries are below; full briefs are in early preview.

Counts run from 2020 and include the county and the cities, towns and townships in it. A city's decision does not describe the rules in unincorporated parts of its county. Examples of conditions are chosen for comparability, and each belongs to the project named, not the whole county.

Loudoun County, VA

Approvals: 8
Adverse actions: 3
Electric utility: Dominion Energy
Grid region: PJM

Recent approvals

Project	Decided by	Date
Cross Mill Center	Loudoun County Board of Supervisors	July 15, 2025
Zebra East (Loudoun County Parkway, Sterling area)	Loudoun County Board of Supervisors	March 18, 2025
Greenlin Park	Loudoun County Board of Supervisors	Feb. 19, 2025
Belmont Innovation Campus (revised)	Loudoun County Board of Supervisors	April 10, 2024

Recent adverse actions

Government	Action	Date
Loudoun County (Ashburn)	Withdrawal under opposition	Oct. 2026
Loudoun County	Restrictive zoning	March 2025
Leesburg	Project denial	Jan. 2025

Examples of conditions on approved projects

Condition	Project	Source
Sound from the data center and its equipment may not exceed 55 dBA at the line of any neighboring lot zoned for single-family homes.	Greenlin Park	Loudoun Board of Supervisors business meeting item Greenlin, Feb. 19, 2025, p. 16
The site must be served by public water and sewer from Loudoun Water, with the owner paying for extensions.	Belmont Innovation Campus (revised)	Loudoun Board of Supervisors staff report, April 10, 2024, p. 38
Generators on site are backup generators and must be EPA Tier 4 compliant.	Village at Leesburg Data Center	Leesburg TC agenda packet, Feb. 27, 2024, p. 321

Maricopa County, AZ

Approvals: 10
Adverse actions: 3
Electric utility: APS, SRP
Grid region: Western Interconnection, no organized market

Recent approvals

Project	Decided by	Date
Project Baccara (Takanock) military compatibility permit	Maricopa County Board of Supervisors	May 6, 2026
Maricopa County AZ rezoning of 638 acres near Tonopah to IND-2 for data center campus (491st Ave & Thomas Rd; up to 2.25M sq ft)	near Tonopah (unincorporated)	Feb. 2026
NTT Mesa Data Center Campus (Pacific Proving Tech Park)	Mesa City Council	Aug. 26, 2024
Tract Buckeye Tech Corridor (Master-Planned Data Center Park)	Buckeye City Council	Aug. 6, 2024

Recent adverse actions

Government	Action	Date
Phoenix	Restrictive zoning	July 2025
Goodyear	Withdrawal under opposition	May 2024
Chandler	Restrictive zoning	Dec. 2022

Examples of conditions on approved projects

Condition	Project	Source
Generators and equipment may not exceed 55 dB at the property line between 10 pm and 6 am, and the developer must design to meet this.	Microsoft El Mirage Data Center (PHX80 Site Plan Amendment)	El Mirage City Council agenda packet, April 16, 2024, p. 146
The approved noise exhibit, which the post-construction study must match, shows about 65 dBA at the adjoining streets and 60 dBA farther out.	EdgeCore Mesa Data Center Campus (Site Plan Modification)	Mesa Planning and Zoning noise contour exhibit, Jan. 24, 2024, p. 1
City-supplied water for the whole 2,087-acre site is capped at 2,000 acre-feet a year (about 1.8 million gallons a day).	Tract Buckeye Tech Corridor (Master-Planned Data Center Park)	buckeye council agenda packet, Aug. 6, 2024, p. 1698

Licking County, OH

Approvals: 8
Adverse actions: 3
Electric utility: AEP Ohio
Grid region: PJM

Recent approvals

Project	Decided by	Date
EdgeConneX New Albany Campus	Ohio Tax Credit Authority	Oct. 27, 2025
Microsoft Heath Data Center	City of Heath	Dec. 16, 2024
Microsoft New Albany Data Center ($420M)	New Albany / Licking County	Oct. 1, 2024
Microsoft Hebron Data Center Campus	Hebron Village Council	June 12, 2024

Recent adverse actions

Government	Action	Date
Etna Township (Licking Co)	Withdrawal under opposition	Oct. 2026
Pataskala (Licking Co)	Site plan denial	Aug. 2026
St. Albans Township (Licking Co)	Ban	March 2026

Examples of conditions on approved projects

Condition	Project	Source
The city approved a memorandum on supplying water and sewer service to the project.	Microsoft New Albany Data Center ($420M)	New Albany Council resolution R 44 2024, Oct. 1, 2024, p. 2
The state exemption runs ten years.	Vantage OH1 New Albany Campus	Ohio Tax Credit Authority minutes, June 24, 2024, p. 1

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