Maryland governor Wes Moore signed an executive order on 23 September creating a task force to review large new data centres, Bloomberg Government reported. The order covers developments with projected electricity demand of 25 megawatts or more. Moore also said he would seek the repeal of a data centre tax exemption through the state legislature, a separate step from the review process he has ordered.
Key points
- A task force drawn from Moore’s administration will assess new data centre projects with projected demand of at least 25 megawatts.
- Projects will receive a written, public determination of Aligned, Conditionally Aligned or Not Aligned.
- The order provides for a monthly public dashboard and bars nondisclosure agreements between developers and state agencies.
- Repealing the 2020 Data Center Sales and Use Tax Exemption requires action by lawmakers.
The 25-megawatt review
The task force is to apply five principles: protection for ratepayers and the electricity grid, economic benefits for Maryland residents, community voice, environmental protection, and transparency and accountability. A project enters review when its developer requests a permit or incentive. The task force will then issue a written, public determination of Aligned, Conditionally Aligned or Not Aligned, NBC4 Washington reported. Those categories put a state assessment into the development process at the point when a company seeks government action.
Moore said the order applies to new developments rather than existing data centres. It also bars nondisclosure agreements between developers and state agencies and calls for state guidance on community benefits. The governor said the order would not override local bans already in place. A majority of Maryland’s counties had temporarily paused data centre development and asked state officials to act, Bloomberg Government reported.
The distinction between an assessment and a power to halt construction has drawn opposition. Members of the Maryland Freedom Caucus argued that the order created “no moratorium, no new power to stop construction”, NottinghamMD.com reported. The caucus objected that the order lacked the power to halt construction or set firm limits on data centre expansion. The order’s reported requirements give the task force a public review role, while Moore’s statement leaves existing local bans in place.
Maryland’s monthly Data Center Dashboard
The order also establishes a public Data Center Dashboard to be updated monthly. It will identify each project’s site and developer, the company that owns the developer, its principal occupants, projected electricity demand and water use, requests for state action, task-force determinations, commitments and annual reports. The task force will maintain that record, publish rules, support local governments and coordinate with neighbouring states, AOL reported.
Information about the requested state action and the eventual determination will therefore sit alongside a project’s projected demands on power and water. The dashboard makes those details available to residents considering a proposed development as well as to the agencies handling it. Its monthly updates also give the state a continuing record of projects after the initial task-force assessment.
BGE, Delmarva Power and Pepco expressed support for the order in a joint statement. They said increasing demand from large electricity users can raise regional supply costs borne by customers, and argued that those users should pay for the infrastructure required to serve them. Ratepayer and grid protection is one of the five principles against which the task force will judge projects.
Moore’s AI framework and the 2020 exemption
Moore said he would work with lawmakers in the coming legislative session to repeal the Data Center Sales and Use Tax Exemption enacted in 2020. That proposal concerns the tax treatment of data centres, rather than the task force’s assessment of individual projects. The exemption remains a matter for the General Assembly. The executive order, meanwhile, directs state officials to review qualifying new developments and make their determinations public.
On 22 September, Moore announced a separate AI framework built around protecting people, centring workers and keeping children safe. Among its proposals are laws governing AI companies on safety, worker protection and public reporting; a right over the use of an individual’s likeness; and bans on discriminatory tenant-screening algorithms and landlords’ use of non-public shared pricing platforms. The framework also calls for guidance explaining how existing discrimination law applies in workplaces using AI.
The worker proposals include protections against using AI to monitor or obstruct labour organising, engagement with unions and training for workers affected by changes in job availability. For children, the framework proposes stronger chatbot protections and limits on addictive AI-based design in social media and chatbots. It also calls for schools to adopt protocols for AI tools used by students and to ensure those tools have demonstrated learning outcomes.
