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TechRadar
Craig Hale

'It doesn't benefit us': Seattle votes for year-long ban on new AI data centers

An aerial view of a 33 megawatt data center (LOWER C) with closed-loop cooling system on April 14, 2026 in Vernon, California. .
  • Seattle City Council votes unanimously to ban new data center projects for an entire year
  • It buys the council time to consider AI data centers' impacts on local resources
  • Residents are fed up with facing higher electricity bills and no clear benefits

Seattle has approved a one-year moratorium on the construction of new data centers, with the city council voting unanimously in favor of the measure on June 9 2026, making it the largest US city yet to introduce such measures.

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