Fairbanks borough mayor proposes pause on large data center permits through 2027

Fairbanks North Star Borough Mayor Grier Hopkins has proposed a moratorium on land use permits for large-scale data centers through the end of 2027. The Borough Assembly is scheduled Oct. 22 to send the proposal to the Planning Commission, with a recommendation due back in 90 days. The referral would not adopt the moratorium.

Under the proposed ordinance, the borough would not accept land use permit applications for large-scale data centers or approve pending ones.

It defines a large-scale data center as one with a peak electrical demand of 5 megawatts or more, more than 50,000 square feet of floor area for data center operations, or onsite power generation of 5 megawatts or more. The borough's planning department would have six months to study data centers' effects on energy use, air quality, water and noise, and recommend land use rules.

The borough's comprehensive plan was last updated in 2005, and its zoning code does not address data centers, the ordinance says. Under current zoning, large-scale data centers would be allowed only in the borough's general use districts, which permit the widest range of land uses. A rewrite of the plan, expected to be finalized in early 2027, includes recommendations on data centers.

The ordinance says large data centers "could have substantial adverse impacts" in the borough, including consuming a significant share of available electrical power, noise from cooling and power equipment, and emissions from onsite power generation.

The Air Force this year asked developers to propose AI data centers on underused military land, including at Eielson Air Force Base south of Fairbanks, as Alaska News reported in June. At a July rally in Fairbanks, a community group opposed 15 proposed data centers statewide, citing power grid and revenue concerns.

Two other Alaska communities took steps this month. The Houston City Council voted unanimously Oct. 8 to stop data center permits within city limits for two years, as Alaska News reported. In Petersburg, the Borough Assembly voted Oct. 5 to have an ordinance drafted for a nine-month moratorium on certain data centers, after a one-year moratorium deadlocked 3-3 in September.

Statewide rules stalled this year. The Alaska Senate voted 14-5 in May to pass Senate Bill 250, which would set rules for utility service to data centers and require decommissioning plans and community benefit agreements. A House committee heard the bill two days later, but it did not advance before the session ended.