MANITOWOC (NBC 26) — The its meeting Tuesday night, the Manitowoc County Board voted unanimously to large ban AI data centers for the next year and a half.
- The moratorium, or temporary ban, passed by the board was first crafted by the Towns of Mishicot, Two Rivers and Two Creeks
- The moratorium bans data centers housing more than one petabyte, or one million gigabytes, of data. Smaller centers or businesses housing less than that are still able to apply for a permit.
- Several people spoke in support of the moratorium at the meeting.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
At the Manitowoc County Board meeting Tuesday night, several people spoke against AI data centers and in support of a moratorium banning data center development.
“I ask that you please give yourself and give us the time, to better understand what this would do to our area,” Natalie Ford, a resident of Manitowoc, said.
The crafted earlier this year by the Towns of Mishicot, Two Rivers and Two Creeks.
A moratorium is a temporary ban of a certain activity, in this case: data center development.
The moratorium closes the application and permit process for data centers.
“The moratorium will give us time to do the research, develop guide rails and guidelines to protect or citizens,” Tammy O'Connor, a resident of Whitelaw, said.
The final moratorium that passed bans the development of all data centers which house more than one petabyte, or one million gigabytes, of data. Centers and businesses with less data than that, will still be allowed to apply for a permit.
The ban lasts 18 months.
