New research from Portulans Institute’s Shy Muralidharan, drawn from a tracker of more than 1,000 data center moratorium actions worldwide, shows that what began as short, temporary local pauses is turning into a standard policy tool. Size thresholds are falling sharply, with some jurisdictions now covering facilities as small as 1MW. A growing share of pauses are ending in permanent bans, size limits, or much smaller areas where building is allowed. For developers, operators, utilities, and regulators, the takeaway is that a moratorium can no longer be treated as a delay of six to 12 months. This is the first of four articles in The Siting Report series.
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