LINCOLN — Lancaster County could become the latest county to issue a moratorium on data center construction. County Commissioner Matt Schulte brought the idea to the commission’s staff meeting Thursday. Schulte said residents in his southern Lancaster County district raised concerns about utility usage and health issues over two potential data centers near Hallam. Residents in the rural district are also concerned with farmland in the area being converted for other uses.

“They’re saying this isn’t an industrial zone; this is my neighborhood,” Schulte said. Hallam's planning commission delayed a vote last week on Monolith's proposed data center, which would fund its carbon black expansion. Stark Power, an Israeli-based developer, also appears to be planning a 1.7-gigawatt hyperscale campus on 1,400 acres of land, according to Nebraska Public Media reporting.

The moratorium, if passed, would halt new construction and permitting of data centers in Lancaster County for a year, according to a copy of the resolution provided to the Journal Star. The resolution would also establish a committee to research how to avoid potential harms associated with data center development. The committee would consist of two county commissioners and three employees within the planning and development services or engineering departments. Commissioner Chelsea Johnson said the commission is exploring the idea but is waiting for more information before taking any action.

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