Virginia's Loudoun County board voted to introduce a 12-month moratorium on new data center applications in the region's hotspot.

Virginia’s Loudoun County, widely recognized as the global epicenter of the data center industry, has moved to temporarily halt new development applications following a supervisor board vote approving a moratorium. The board voted 7–1 this week to pause all new data center applications for 12 months, with the restriction taking effect immediately. Supervisor Kristen Umstattd of the Leesburg district voted against the measure, while Supervisor Caleb Kershner of the Catoctin district abstained.

“For years, I have been pushing for Loudoun County to get a handle on data center growth. Last night, the Board finally took decisive action our constituents have been demanding,” said Algonkian District Supervisor Juli E. Briskman, who brought forward the proposals. “This pause is a major step forward. Now we have the breathing room required to complete the critical work of revising our regulations to protect our communities.”

Loudoun County currently hosts hundreds of data centers with a combined capacity measured in gigawatts. Ashford is home to ‘Data Center Alley’, where facilities operated by some of the world’s largest technology companies are clustered together. Like hundreds of similar moratoriums enacted across the United States, officials intend to use the 12-month window to quantify the infrastructure’s impact on local resources and residents, ultimately establishing more permanent regulatory controls to mitigate potential harms.

A preliminary motion to assess the legality of a moratorium and establish the framework for this week’s pause was approved in July, though county officials determined that a permanent ban would be unworkable under Virginia state law. At its October 20 business meeting, the board will receive a formal resolution from county staff to officially memorialize the pause. Separately, the county has already eliminated data centers as a by-right zoning classification and is currently evaluating whether to revoke by-right status for projects that were previously grandfathered in.