What we learned this week about Baltimore’s plans for data centers

The proliferation of energy-guzzling data centers across the region has left local leaders scrambling to come up with solutions and safeguards, and Baltimore is no exception.

Earlier this year, the Baltimore City Council approved a temporary moratorium on the computing complexes, forbidding them from being built in the city for one year. The council also ordered up a study to look at the potential impact of data centers in the city, which is currently underway.

With the moratorium in place, still more bills on the topic are under consideration by the City Council. This week, the council held hearings on data centers, attracting dozens of city residents to City Hall, most in opposition.

Here’s what you need to know about what the City Council is considering and what could be next.

What’s on the table?

Councilwoman Phylicia Porter, chairwoman of the council’s Public Health and Environment Committee, has proposed requiring an onerous health equity assessment before a data center can be built in the city. The assessment, which city officials would have to sign off on, would look at the facility’s impact on drinking water and pollution while also requiring an explanation of how the facility would be in the “public interest.”

While anti-data center on its face, opponents have worried that the proposal would open the door to the facilities by subjecting them to strict regulations rather than a moratorium or ban.

Last month, the city’s planning commission recommended against Porter’s plan, finding that it could conflict with the existing moratorium. She has since offered amendments that would make the legislation effective only after the moratorium lifts in July.

The council is also considering a proposal to expand what types of data centers are barred by the moratorium. The legislation signed by the mayor in June temporarily blocks the construction of data centers with a 10 megawatt capacity or more. A proposal from Councilman Mark Parker introduced in July would cut that threshold in half to 5 megawatts. That proposal has not yet had a hearing.

What’s the latest discussion?

This week, the council held a listening session, inviting representatives from PJM Interconnection, the Office of the People’s Counsel and the Public Service Commission to address the proliferation of data centers and their impact on the local power grid.

Officials said data centers built beyond Maryland’s borders have substantially increased the projected demand for energy in the years to come. They also urged the council to think more broadly about what constitutes a data center. Baltimore is less likely to attract the “hyperscale” data centers that often make headlines. Instead, the city is a prime location for smaller urban data centers, which trade capacity for proximity, they said.

City staff said Baltimore already has multiple data centers, although the exact total isn’t known. Data centers were not a use specified by the city’s zoning code until the moratorium went into place.

Officials named six known data centers, the largest of which is AiNET, adjacent to Lexington Market, that uses around 80 megawatts. The others use less than 2 megawatts, they said.

Porter questioned whether any of the existing centers were studied in advance to consider their environmental or health impacts. City employees said the centers were vetted like any other projects. Permits and plans were submitted and reviewed by city engineers.

Although she supports an outright ban on data centers, Porter’s legislation establishing a health equity assessment was widely criticized by the public during a hearing Thursday. Many speakers, who waited hours through discussions of other topics to speak, said an outright ban was the only solution they would support.

“Once a vote is called to ban data centers, I welcome that in this chamber,” Porter said.

Will the council ban data centers?

No legislation proposing a ban is currently on the table.

The council heard testimony Wednesday from Mark Muro, a senior fellow at Brookings Metro, who urged the group to consider ways to leverage data centers as a win for the city rather than implement an outright ban.

Muro said data center builders have been “spooked” by the public backlash to their facilities and are more likely to be amenable to offering perks in exchange for locating in the city.

“Baltimore holds most of the cards here,” Muro said, noting that the city has planning and zoning authority. “This is a chance for you to ask what you want.”

Suggestions offered by Muro included free computing for local universities, small-business hubs or an investment in housing.

Council President Zeke Cohen, who sponsored the moratorium and has a hold on the topic that bars other members from introducing bills, said all options are on the table, including a wholesale ban.

“I am grateful to all the residents who have stepped up and participated in the civic process by sharing thoughts and concerns,” he said. “Community feedback will be a key step in shaping the Department of Planning’s report and how this council moves forward on data centers.”