In a heated city council meeting on Tuesday, leaders in Memphis, Tennessee, voted against a moratorium that would have paused data center development for a year in the city, which has become a hotspot for the facilities driven by
.Instead
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which → vote → facilities
, city council members passed a substitute ordinance — which some said they received on short notice and did not have time to review — that would halt construction of data centers for 135 days.
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that → pass → days
Residents and activists have pushed back against data center development in the region for years, starting with the construction of SpaceXAI's Colossus 1 data center in 2024.
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Residents → push → 2024
The company has also built two other data centers and has two under construction in Memphis and the surrounding region, including across the state border in Southaven, Mississippi.
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company → build → Southaven
Also in Southaven, a plant powering the company's data centers is using methane gas turbines, which prompted a lawsuit from the NAACP and other organizations over alleged pollution.
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which → power → pollution
SpaceXAI did not reply to a request for comment.
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SpaceXAI → reply → comment
The Trump administration moved to dismiss the case, but earlier Tuesday, a Mississippi federal judge blocked that bid.
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judge → move → bid
Supporters of data centers argue they are
the growth of artificial intelligence technology.
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they → argue → technology
Advocates also say they will create much-needed jobs, although experts counter many of those jobs are in the construction industry and
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many → say → industry
.The moratorium would have paused the construction of new data centers for a year, allowing the city to adopt permanent zoning and development regulations as well as establish disclosure requirements for data center applicants.
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city → pause → applicants
It also would have provided the opportunity to study impacts on air quality, electrical infrastructure, water protection and noise.
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It → provide → quality
The moratorium would not have halted existing data center operations.
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moratorium → halt → operations
The language of the ordinance that was passed Tuesday states that it is intended to complement Memphis Mayor Paul Young's executive order to establish a 90-day period to study the impacts of data center development.
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it → pass → development
Many attendees in the chambers appeared shocked and confused at the proposal for the new ordinance.
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attendees → appear → ordinance
A few members of the crowd remained in the chambers following the vote where they sang, chanted and vocalized their frustrations.
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they → remain → frustrations
The city council's move comes after a postponement of the vote earlier this month spurred protests in the chambers and resulted in an early end to an Oct. 6 meeting.
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postponement → come → meeting
According to a recent Pew Research Center survey, over half of Americans say they're not comfortable with a new data center operating in their area — a sentiment that's spilling over into and across the country.
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that → accord → country
Ahead of the vote, KeShaun Pearson, the executive director of the Memphis Community Against Pollution, said that community members were concerned about what they feel has been a lack of transparency from local government officials and data centers' environmental impact.
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they → say → officials
"It's as if the people who have been elected to protect us and to stand up to corporations and be that representative have just completely abdicated that responsibility, and left us to fend for ourselves," he said.
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he → elect → ourselves
Pearson and his brother, Tennessee Rep. Justin Pearson, were among a handful of people barred from city council meetings following the protests at city hall earlier this month.
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Pearson → bar → hall
A federal judge lifted the ban and the two were present during the vote.
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two → lift → vote
Pearson and the group have sued the city council over the ban.
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Pearson → sue → ban
The Aporia
