Iowa Data Center Moratorium Tracker
Iowa has 1 state-level data-center restriction in force. 3 more bills are pending. 31 city and county measures are tracked here, 27 of them in force. Every entry below links to its primary source: a legislature page, a governor's office, a local government, or the reporting of record.
Iowa
IA
In force
5
State-level measures on record, 1 in force
31
City and county measures, 27 in force
35
Primary sources cited on this page
#18
of 50 states with anything on record, by measure count
State-level measures in Iowa
Every statewide moratorium, pause, siting restriction, or tax-incentive rollback in Iowa we can verify against a primary source. Strongest status first.
| Measure | Status | What it does | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| HF 976Limits data-center sales/use tax exemptions | In force 2025-06 | Adds expiration dates to previously indefinite sales/use-tax exemptions for electricity and backup fuel (10 years in cities over 30,000; 15 years in smaller cities) plus registration and reporting. Signed June 6, 2025. | |
| HF 2198A bill for an act relating to the disclosure of tax incentives provided to web search portal businesses and data center businesses, and including effective | Proposed 2026-01 | Iowa HF 2198 (2025-2026): A bill for an act relating to the disclosure of tax incentives provided to web search portal businesses and data center businesses, and including effective date provisions.. Last action 2026-01-29: Introduced, referred to Ways and Means.. | |
| HSB 727A bill for an act relating to investment requirements for data center businesses that claim certain sales tax exemptions and sales and use tax refunds. | Proposed 2026-02 | Iowa HSB 727 (2025-2026): A bill for an act relating to investment requirements for data center businesses that claim certain sales tax exemptions and sales and use tax refunds.. Last action 2026-02-23: Committee report approving bill, renumbered as HF 2688.. | |
| SSB 3181A bill for an act making certain sales and use tax exemptions relating to nuclear electric generation facilities, web search portal businesses | Proposed 2026-04 | Iowa SSB 3181 (2025-2026): A bill for an act making certain sales and use tax exemptions relating to nuclear electric generation facilities, web search portal businesses, and data center businesses contingent upon making. Last action 2026-04-14: Committee report approving bill, renumbered as SF 2498.. | |
| HF 2447Iowa HF 2447, proposed by Rep. Cindy Golding (R-Cedar Rapids), creates new reporting requirements and utility rate structures for data centers. | Failed / vetoed 2026-02 | Iowa HF 2447, proposed by Rep. Cindy Golding (R-Cedar Rapids), creates new reporting requirements and utility rate structures for data centers. Data centers must file quarterly reports with the Iowa DNR on water usage (source, volume, efficiency) and quarterly energy reports with the Iowa Utilities Commission (power consumption, on-site generators, sustainability metrics like waste heat reuse). All data must be publicly shared online within 30 days. The bill also requires the Iowa Utilities Commission to create a separate rate class for data centers to prevent grid upgrade costs from being shifted to residents. Separately, HF 2261 would create a new water utility customer class for energy facilities requiring 20+ MW. The bill survived legislative funnel week in February 2026. Iowa adjourned sine die May 3, 2026; the transparency/reporting bill did not become law. |
City and county moratoria in Iowa
Most of the movement is local, where a building pause or permit halt does not need a legislative session. 31 tracked measures in Iowa, each with its source.
Adams County
2026-06
24-month data center moratorium (Resolution 2026-25)
On June 15, 2026, after a public hearing, the Adams County Board of Supervisors approved Resolution 2026-25 imposing a moratorium on permits and approvals for data centers, effective immediately. The vote was 4-0 with one supervisor absent, and the moratorium runs 24 months unless repealed, modified, or extended.
Boone County
2026-09
Moratorium on new data center projects for up to one year
The Boone County Board of Supervisors adopted a moratorium on new data center projects for up to one year on September 9, 2026. The pause is intended to give the board time to study and adopt a new zoning ordinance.
Buchanan County
2026-01
County moratorium on data centers for a stated term
Temporary moratorium on data centers. The measure has a stated duration whose end date is not recorded.
City of Peosta
2026-09
Data center moratorium, extended to June 18, 2027
The Peosta City Council unanimously voted in September 2026 to extend the city's data center moratorium by six months, with an end date of June 18, 2027.
Clarke County
2026-01
Local moratorium on data centers until a condition is met
Temporary moratorium while permanent rules are developed. The measure runs until a condition is met rather than to a date.
Clayton County
2025-02
Clayton County data center moratorium
Clayton County Board of Supervisors approved a temporary moratorium on rezoning requests and conditional use permits for digital asset mining/data centers in February 2025. The moratorium was originally set to expire December 31, 2025, but supervisors extended it to December 31, 2026 to allow more time for research and policy development. County officials and the Planning and Zoning Board are studying potential concerns including noise, visual impact, water use, and effects on surrounding properties.
Dickinson County
2026-05
County moratorium on data centers through November 12, 2026
6-month moratorium on data centers, bitcoin, solar/battery; 4-1 vote. The measure runs to November 12, 2026.
Dubuque
2026-09
Six-month moratorium on hyperscale data centers
The Dubuque City Council adopted a six-month moratorium on hyperscale data centers at its Monday, Sept. 21, 2026 meeting. A facility counts as hyperscale if it is 100,000 square feet or larger, exceeds 75 megawatts of electrical demand, has 5,000 or more servers, or uses more than 50 gallons of water per minute. The council also directed the City Attorney's Office to draft a longer-term data center ordinance. This city measure is separate from the Dubuque County moratorium.
Dubuque County
2026-05
12-month data center moratorium
The Board of Supervisors approved a 12-month moratorium on data centers on May 26, 2026 in a 2-1 vote following large public opposition over water, land and noise concerns.
Emmet County
2026-08
One-year data center moratorium
The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Aug. 25, 2026 to adopt a one-year moratorium on data centers in the northwest Iowa county, citing health concerns, water use and energy demand. No developer had inquired; the board called the measure precautionary and will use the year to finish solar siting rules and then draft a data center ordinance.
Henry County
2026-05
Henry County data center moratorium
Henry County imposed a moratorium, effective through December 31, halting data centers, large battery arrays, and data-mining sites while it drafts policy. The pause gives the county time to develop standards.
Ida County
2026-06
Local moratorium on data centers until a condition is met
Indefinite moratorium, unanimous. Supervisors want more information before allowing development. The measure runs until a condition is met rather than to a date.
Iowa County
2026-07
12-month data center moratorium (Resolution 2026-07-31)
The Iowa County Board of Supervisors adopted Resolution 2026-07-31, a 12-month moratorium on accepting, processing or approving applications for all classes of data centers in unincorporated Iowa County.
Jefferson County
2026-08
Local moratorium on data centers through August 11, 2027
12-month moratorium adopted unanimously alongside a new data center ordinance; second and third readings waived so it took effect at once. County attorney recommended 1 year over the 24 months residents asked for, as more likely to survive a legal challenge. The measure runs to August 11, 2027.
Johnson County
2025-11
One-year data center moratorium (unincorporated)
Johnson County imposed a one-year moratorium on rezoning, site plans and building permits for data centers in unincorporated areas (expiring Nov. 8, 2026) and has since discussed extending it or adopting a ban.
Linn County
2026-07
18-month rezoning moratorium (EU-3 data center district)
The Board of Supervisors voted 2-1 on July 1, 2026 for an 18-month moratorium on new applications to rezone unincorporated land to the county's EU-3 large-scale data center district.
Linn County Board of Supervisors (18-month pause on EU-3 large-scale data center rezoning applications)
2026-07
Linn County Board of Supervisors (18-month pause on EU-3 large-scale data center rezoning applications) data center moratorium
Linn County Board of Supervisors voted 2-1 (Sami Scheetz opposed) for an 18-month pause on new rezoning applications to the county's EU-3 large-scale data center district, distinct from the county's existing data center ordinance passed in March 2026. Layered atop the ongoing Google/Palo annexation dispute in the same county. On 2026-07-21 the Linn County Planning & Zoning Commission discussed creating an exception in EU-2 zoning that would allow data centers as accessories to nuclear power plants -- a carve-out that would functionally apply almost exclusively to Google's project, since Duane Arnold is Iowa's only nuclear plant. Draft language is not expected to reach the P&Z Commission before Aug 17, 2026. The same day, Palo City Council passed its own data center zoning ordinance.
Madison County
2026-06
One-year data-processing-facility moratorium
The Madison County board unanimously approved a one-year moratorium on data processing facilities (including crypto mining and data centers) on June 13, 2026; single syndicated local source.
Marshall County
2026-09
Proposed county moratorium on data centers
The Marshall County Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted a resolution imposing a six-month moratorium on applications for data centers, AI computing, data mining and cryptocurrency mining facilities in unincorporated areas.
Marshalltown
2026-08
Local moratorium on data centers through November 23, 2026
Ordinance 15123 signed Aug 24; 5-2 vote. Moratorium runs through Nov 23, 2026, extendable up to 60 additional days. Council previously voted down a 6-month moratorium in Jun. The measure runs to November 23, 2026.
Mitchell County
2025-01
County moratorium on data centers through December 31, 2026
Resolution #1336-25; moratorium on data centers until Dec 31, 2026. Voted 4-1 (Frein, Marzen, Hartogh, Wherry yes; Hendrickson nay). The measure runs to December 31, 2026.
Page County
2026-07
Temporary data center moratorium
The Page County Board of Supervisors approved a moratorium on data centers by a 2-1 vote on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, to allow time to review county zoning. Date corrected from 7-22 (KMA article dated July 21 reports the Tuesday vote).
Plymouth County
2026-06
One-year revocable data center moratorium
Plymouth County supervisors approved a one-year revocable moratorium on data centers and industrial battery storage on June 17, 2026 in a 4-0 vote.
Sioux County
2026-06
One-year data center and BESS moratorium
Sioux County supervisors placed a one-year moratorium on new data centers and battery energy storage systems in unincorporated areas effective June 16, 2026.
Taylor County
2026-07
12-month moratorium on data centers and energy projects
On July 30, 2026, the Taylor County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a 12-month moratorium covering data centers, solar energy systems, battery energy storage systems, and mineral extraction operations. The ordinance states existing land use regulations were not designed for these industries.
Waterloo
2026-09
Three-month moratorium on data center development
The Waterloo City Council unanimously approved a three-month moratorium on data center development at its meeting in the week of September 7, 2026. During the moratorium city departments generally cannot accept, process or approve data center projects, and it can be extended for up to one year.
Woodbury County
2026-06
12-month data center moratorium (Resolution 14064)
Supervisors voted 5-0 on June 23, 2026 (Resolution 14064) for a 12-month moratorium barring acceptance or approval of development applications for all classes of data centers in unincorporated Woodbury County.
Clinton
2026-06
Rejected local moratorium on data centers
Proposed moratorium rejected 5-2 as QTS considers an AI data center campus north of US-30/west of Mill Creek Parkway; council members argued a pause could send the wrong message to developers. The measure has no documented term.
Council Bluffs (data center moratorium denied), IA
2026-06
Council Bluffs (data center moratorium denied), IA data center moratorium (failed)
On June 15, 2026 the Council Bluffs (IA) City Council voted unanimously to DENY a proposed one-year data center moratorium, opting for a wastewater-management plan instead as the city nears wastewater capacity. Council Bluffs hosts Google's oldest/largest U.S. data center campus (~$7B+, with a May 2026 additional $7B Iowa expansion); the moratorium was prompted by wastewater-capacity concerns, not a specific new project. On June 15, 2026, the Council Bluffs City Council voted unanimously, following a public hearing, to deny Mayor Jill Shudak's proposed moratorium (up to a one-year pause) on new data center projects, which she sought to study infrastructure capacity, ordinances, and siting/build standards. Council members cited economic concerns and argued...
Hancock County
2026-09
Six-month data center moratorium (failed for lack of a second)
The Hancock County Board of Supervisors first tabled a proposed six-month moratorium on zoning change requests for data centers. At the board's Monday, Sept. 28, 2026 meeting, Supervisor Sis Greiman moved to adopt the moratorium and the motion died for lack of a second.
Salix
2026-08
Rejected one-year data center moratorium
The City Council voted 3-2 on Aug. 20, 2026 against a one-year moratorium, clearing the way for MidAmerican Energy and Google to continue exploring a project on roughly 900 acres the city annexed in April 2026. Council member Denise Burkhart, who had supported a pause the previous month, changed her vote after Google was identified as the prospective customer. The meeting had been delayed more than a week after death threats were posted on social media.
Where Iowa stands
Across the whole tracker we hold 334 state-level measures in 49 states and 1253 city and county measures, against 1419 primary sources. Iowa accounts for 5 of the state-level measures and 31 of the local ones.
By total measures on record it is #18 of the 50 states and DC carrying any tracked action, and #15 by city and county measures alone. Ranking is by count of sourced entries in this dataset, so it measures documented activity, not the size of the buildout.
Sources for Iowa
35 citations behind the entries above. Each opens in a new tab.
- Statewide · HF 976 — Limits data-center sales/use tax exemptions nyemaster.com →
- Statewide · HF 2198 — A bill for an act relating to the disclosure of tax incentives provided to web search portal businesses and data center businesses, and including effective legis.iowa.gov →
- Statewide · HSB 727 — A bill for an act relating to investment requirements for data center businesses that claim certain sales tax exemptions and sales and use tax refunds. legis.iowa.gov →
- Statewide · SSB 3181 — A bill for an act making certain sales and use tax exemptions relating to nuclear electric generation facilities, web search portal businesses legis.iowa.gov →
- Statewide · HF 2447 — Iowa HF 2447, proposed by Rep. Cindy Golding (R-Cedar Rapids), creates new reporting requirements and utility rate structures for data centers. axios.com →
- Adams County — 24-month data center moratorium (Resolution 2026-25) adamscounty.iowa.gov →
- Boone County — Moratorium on new data center projects for up to one year kcci.com →
- Buchanan County — County moratorium on data centers for a stated term nbcnews.com →
- City of Peosta — Data center moratorium, extended to June 18, 2027 telegraphherald.com →
- Clarke County — Local moratorium on data centers until a condition is met radioiowa.com →
- Clayton County — Clayton County data center moratorium claytoncountyia.gov →
- Dickinson County — County moratorium on data centers through November 12, 2026 exploreokoboji.com →
- Dubuque — Six-month moratorium on hyperscale data centers kwwl.com →
- Dubuque County — 12-month data center moratorium kcrg.com →
- Emmet County — One-year data center moratorium ktiv.com →
- Henry County — Henry County data center moratorium southeastiowaunion.com →
- Ida County — Local moratorium on data centers until a condition is met radioiowa.com →
- Iowa County — 12-month data center moratorium (Resolution 2026-07-31) iowacounty.iowa.gov →
- Jefferson County — Local moratorium on data centers through August 11, 2027 kilj.com →
- Johnson County — One-year data center moratorium (unincorporated) cbs2iowa.com →
- Linn County and 1 other locality — 2 separate measures, cited together linncountyiowa.gov →
- Madison County — One-year data-processing-facility moratorium news.yahoo.com →
- Marshall County — Proposed county moratorium on data centers timesrepublican.com →
- Marshalltown — Local moratorium on data centers through November 23, 2026 marshalltown-ia.gov →
- Mitchell County — County moratorium on data centers through December 31, 2026 mitchellcounty.iowa.gov →
- Page County — Temporary data center moratorium kmaland.com →
- Plymouth County — One-year revocable data center moratorium klem1410.com →
- Sioux County — One-year data center and BESS moratorium ktiv.com →
- Taylor County — 12-month moratorium on data centers and energy projects kxcv.org →
- Waterloo — Three-month moratorium on data center development wcfcourier.com →
- Woodbury County — 12-month data center moratorium (Resolution 14064) woodburycountyiowa.gov →
- Clinton — Rejected local moratorium on data centers qctimes.com →
- Council Bluffs (data center moratorium denied), IA — Council Bluffs (data center moratorium denied), IA data center moratorium (failed) kmaland.com →
- Hancock County — Six-month data center moratorium (failed for lack of a second) globegazette.com →
- Salix — Rejected one-year data center moratorium iowapublicradio.org →
What does bind large loads in Iowa
A moratorium is only one way a data center gets stopped. The grid operator decides whether it can connect at all, and on what terms. Iowa sits in 2 footprints.
MISODominant
Faster parallel studies and a co-located generation fast track, not a pause.
SPP
Speed in exchange for curtailability under the approved HILL framework.
MidAmerican and Alliant (interior/east) in MISO; western fringe co-op/WAPA territory in SPP (Iowa is in SPP's footprint list per FERC).
States next door
6 of the 6 states bordering Iowa have at least one data-center measure on record. Restrictions tend to travel between neighbors, so this is usually where the next one comes from.
Data centers in Iowa
The US Data Center Map identifies 85 facilities run by 31 operators in Iowa, each one placed from primary sources and listed by city and by operator, with the measures on this page beside them.
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How to read this page
In force = a moratorium, siting restriction, or tax-incentive rollback that is currently enacted, by statute or executive order. Paused = a temporary hold on new incentives or applications. Proposed = introduced and still pending. Failed / vetoed = died in committee, was voted down, or was vetoed.
This page is generated from the same primary-sourced dataset as the national U.S. Data Center Moratorium Tracker and is re-checked on the same weekly cycle, whether or not anything changed. Legislative status changes quickly; it is informational, not legal advice. Spot something out of date in Iowa? Tell us.
Companion references: the Data Center Grid Operator Watchlist for the interconnection and curtailment rules that bind here, the Data Center Water Tracker for water mandates, and the Data Center Delay Watchlist for named projects.
Why Iowa is pushing back
The objections repeat from state to state: strain on the electric grid, water drawn for cooling, and the sense that a facility takes local resources without giving much back. SAVRN builds AI factories designed around those three objections: on-site power that does not lean on the public grid, direct-to-chip cooling that does not consume municipal water, and a training institute that puts local people to work inside the building.
See how a SAVRN factory works Talk to us about a Iowa site