Seattle Mayor Considers Data Center Moratorium
More than 54,000 emails were sent to Seattle City Council members urging the ban.
April 24, 2026 – Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson (D) is weighing a moratorium on new data center development, as officials confront concerns over energy demand, environmental impact, and potential costs to ratepayers.
Wilson said Saturday the city is exploring a temporary pause after a surge of public opposition, including an online campaign that generated more than 54,000 emails urging a halt to new projects.
“It is important to know that the City of Seattle has not authorized nor permitted any new data centers,” Wilson wrote in a post to Facebook. “However, the prospect of massive new data centers being built in Seattle has raised understandably intense public alarm.”
“I share community concerns about environmental justice, economic resilience, and impacts of increased costs for Seattle rate payers. That’s why my team is working closely with Seattle City Light, City Council and stakeholders to identify a range of long-term policy approaches, including exploring a moratorium on siting new centers,” Wilson wrote.
Four companies have approached Seattle City Light about building five large-scale data centers. Seattle already has about 30 facilities, but they are relatively small. The proposed projects would be the first at this scale and are still in early stages and have not submitted formal applications.
At full capacity, the five facilities could draw 369 megawatts, one-third of the city’s average daily electricity use and nearly 10 times the demand of existing local data centers.
Data centers support artificial intelligence and cloud computing but require large amounts of power.
Councilmember Eddie Lin said he supported a pause. “It allows the city to develop appropriate regulations and requirements,” he said.
His office received thousands of emails urging the halt. “They just keep coming,” he said. “It was such a quick outcry.”
A climate group, 350 Seattle, organized the letter-writing campaign opposing the projects.
“Seattle’s resources are already stretched thin — we should not put more strain on the system to help the largest and most profitable companies in the world grow larger and more powerful,” the campaign said.
Seattle City Light has relied on surplus hydropower, but lower snowpack in recent years has forced it to buy electricity on the wholesale market, increasing costs.
Ben Jones, digital and communications director for 350 Seattle, said the organization was “hoping to get a conversation started.”
Seattle City Light is revising policies for large-load customers, including possible requirements that developers supply their own power or fund infrastructure upgrades.
Developers are expected to decide in the coming months whether to move forward with formal proposals.
