Palm Beach County, which is home to President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago, has instituted a one-year moratorium on the planning and development of new data centers. This decision, made by the county commissioners, aims to allow for a comprehensive assessment of how data centers affect the environment, contribute to noise pollution, and impact electricity costs.
The moratorium was approved last Thursday, shortly after Trump remarked that communities opposing data centers might find themselves “backwards and poor.” It’s worth noting that Palm Beach County ranks among the wealthiest in the U.S. and includes towns that host an impressive number of billionaires.
“If you want to go through poverty, crime, and squalor, I would say don’t approve of data centers,” Trump stated during a press event in early September.
The unanimous vote from the Palm Beach County Commissioners does not impose a permanent prohibition on data centers. Instead, it allows time for county officials to conduct necessary environmental reviews before making updates to zoning regulations that govern where such facilities can be established.
The moratorium specifically targets new applications for data centers that are expected to draw a peak electrical load of 50 megawatts or more.
During a meeting on Thursday, a local resident voiced concerns, saying that while many communities are eager for the economic advantages brought by data centers, there are legitimate fears about higher electricity bills, environmental damage, disruptive noise, and the strain on water supplies.
Trump has identified the expansion of data centers and the acceleration of artificial intelligence as vital components of his agenda, underscoring the importance of not falling behind in the AI competition against China. He often suggests that resistance to data centers inadvertently aids Beijing.
Data centers play a crucial role in artificial intelligence, providing the physical infrastructure that holds thousands of powerful computers used for storing and processing data, as well as running AI systems.
In 2016, Palm Beach County approved the construction of “Project Tango,” a proposed AI data center spanning 202 acres and situated about 20 miles from Mar-a-Lago. Notably, this center will be located close to both homes and an elementary school.
In a prior vote in July, commissioners rejected a proposal to significantly expand Project Tango by an additional 1.67 million square feet. However, two earlier approvals for 100,000-square-foot data center buildings still stand.
At the recent meeting, residents expressed that Project Tango motivated the call for a hold on new data center approvals, with several advocating against the construction of any data centers. One resident, Sergei Kelly, articulated a straightforward view: “I think the best good neighbor data center is no data center,” emphasizing the importance of preserving the local environment near the Everglades and the coast.
Fox News Digital reached out for comments from both the White House and Palm Beach County Commissioners regarding the situation.
