Seattle will suspend new data centre construction for 1 year.

TechRadar, an IT media outlet, reported on June 10 that the Seattle City Council unanimously passed a measure on June 9 to place a 1-year moratorium on new data centre construction.

The move targets future new projects, not developments already approved. Seattle cited concerns that expanding data centres could increase electricity consumption and water use and raise noise and environmental burdens. Rising public utility bills felt by residents were also presented as a key backdrop.

City Council member Debora Juarez (데보라 후아레스) said in a city news release that the decision does not stop artificial intelligence, or data centres themselves. She said the move is meant to give Seattle time to prepare its own regulatory framework to apply to future projects.

Local opposition grew quickly after plans to review large-scale projects became known. Four companies reviewed up to 5 major projects in and around Seattle, and information was disclosed that total required power could reach 369 megawatts if all of them proceed. That would be about one-third of the city's total electricity use.

Residents raised in City Council meetings the possibility of higher electricity bills, grid stability, an increase in electronic waste and land-use issues. Some also pointed to impacts on housing and said job creation would be limited compared with the resources required.

City Council member Eddie Lin (에디 린) said he had heard the views of tens of thousands of residents and that Seattle should not become a structure in which residents prop up record profits earned by big companies from the AI boom. The pause is largely aimed at securing time to examine these issues separately from the process of approving additional projects.

The decision is also drawing attention because Seattle is home to Amazon and Microsoft. The two companies are hyperscalers with the largest shares of the global cloud market. The temporary halt on new data centre expansion in such a city is being taken as an example showing that expanding AI infrastructure can directly collide with local power, housing and environmental issues.

Seattle plans to overhaul data centre-related rules and review criteria over the next year. The focus of future discussions is expected to be on how to control pressure on the power grid and rising resident costs while accommodating demand for AI infrastructure.

Seattle's move is closer to re-examining surging power demand and resident burdens within a regulatory framework than to blocking data centres outright. It is a case that shows AI infrastructure expansion directly intersects with a city's power grid, cost of living and land-use issues.