Data centers in Oregon

"We have to be vigilant as we prepare for the future. We are definitely flying into the great unknown, we don't know where these centers could be located or how. The technology is advancing so quickly that we are not keeping up with any kind of policy sidebars"

"The thing that you just can't do, though, is move the goalposts mid game. If we're going to go through this land use process and in the end, this is all a land use process. You can't change the rules in the middle of it"

"This is about far more than data centers. It is about the families whose livelihoods depend on these jobs, the local businesses that rely on a strong and stable economy, and the residents who trust us to make responsible, long-term decisions for our community's future."

"The city has not spent any money that has not come in yet"

"How do you apply the same permitting rules with the basis of environmental studies, and understanding and the data that should back whether a permit is approved"

Governor Tina Kotek came out in favor of a moratorium on new data centers.

State Senator Christine Drazan came out in favor of a moratorium on new data centers.

Oregon Rural Action has called for a statewide three year data center moratorium.

Filip calls for a ban on AI data centers, arguing that their consumption of energy and water and their environmental impacts warrant stronger restrictions.

The six states targeted for federal land data center transfers are Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, Idaho, Wyoming, and Utah.

The Trump Administration wants to transfer more than 17,000 acres in six states to build 12 data centers, according to Wyden.

Democratic Governor Tina Kotek echoed Sanders' call for a data center moratorium in her reelection campaign.

Scott Hege believes decisions about data center development, including tax breaks and community investments, should be made locally rather than at the state level.

Hank Sanders called for a statewide moratorium of unspecified time on data centers.

Utility advocates have described ratepayers facing winter bills over 600 dollars a month while data centers pay minimum demand charges covering only a fraction of their real usage

Citizens' Utility Board called the Pacific Power agreement the strongest from a for profit electric utility yet under Oregon's POWER Act

Columbia Riverkeeper has testified that roughly half of Oregon's data centers do not track their own water use

The city could extend the moratorium by six months if approved.

Val Hoyle, Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. from Oregon's 4th Congressional District, co sponsored or voted for several bills to regulate AI and address data center impacts, including the Ratepayer Protection Act and Bernie Sanders' Ban Artificial Super Intelligence Act

Republican candidate Monique DeSpain said she promised not to accept money from the AI industry and stated communities must have the power to reject a data center if they determine it isn't right for them

Committee consensus found need for more responsible oversight of data center industry and centralized information repository about Oregon data centers' type, water and energy use, and tax breaks.

Justin Filip, the Pacific Green candidate, said neither major party candidates' views go far enough to protect their constituents from the impacts of AI and data centers.

Monique DeSpain, Republican challenger in Oregon's 4th Congressional District, argues communities must have power to reject data centers and calls for radical transparency in data center decisions

Amazon data centers in Eastern Oregon use outside air for cooling for 93% of the year, using water cooling for only 7% of the year

Oregon Data Center Advisory Committee held seven fact finding meetings over nine months and released preliminary learnings and questions report.

Town hall focused on hearing input on data center water usage, noise, job creation and electricity consumption

Scott Hege says transparency about Google's water consumption was a weakness in data center agreements.

Hillsboro pushing back against expansion and Clackamas County commissioners starting conversations about data center development

Scott Hege said he believes local communities should decide whether to accept data centers rather than state level rules.

The Data Center Advisory Committee fielded more than 700 written comments and nine hours of verbal comments since February, with roughly 90% expressing opposition to data centers

Woodburn City Manager says water impact from data centers could exceed city's water supply capacity

Amazon data centers have drawn criticism for water and energy use and environmental impacts

Environmental Protection Network identified more than 30 federal actions increasing pollution related health risks, including narrowing environmental reviews, ending citizen led pollution lawsuits, and changing public participation requirements

Walter Mugdan, former EPA deputy regional administrator with 48 years of service, states people deserve a voice in decisions affecting where they live and what they breathe

EPA is weakening or reconsidering safeguards designed to protect people from harmful pollution as AI expansion drives demand for electricity

Dr. Lynn Goldman, former EPA assistant administrator, states the massive AI buildout can have enormous consequences for America's health

Amazon representative said Amazon data center uses less water than local agriculture industry

Amazon representative said company runs diesel generators about 12 hours per year for testing and maintenance

Jim Doherty, former Morrow County Commissioner, said opposition to data centers is a unifying moment between rural and urban Oregon

David Sykes, chair of the Morrow County Board of Commissioners, said decisions over data centers on private property are up to local government

State advisory committee is expected to deliver policy recommendations by the end of the year

Verrus hired a lobbyist, Drew Hagedorn, registered September 4, 2026, for data center development, energy and utilities, land use and permitting

Data centre moratorium debate is playing out across Oregon and the nation as campaign issue

Governor supports a statewide moratorium on data centers while Oregon develops stronger protections

Governor Kotek wants legislature to pass statewide data center moratorium in 2027 session

Excise tax should offset data centers' rising energy demands and workforce disruption

Roughly 100 people demonstrated outside Oregon State Capitol calling for three year pause on data center development

Sen. Ron Wyden, top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, proposes new federal excise tax on data center development

Many data centers across Oregon rely on diesel generators to provide backup power which could release massive amounts of diesel pollution into nearby communities

The AI boom has rapidly increased the demand for data center infrastructure

Data centers could impact Oregon's aging power grid

Christine Drazan launched a 30 second online ad stating Tina Kotek rolled out the red carpet for data centers with more than a billion in tax breaks

Michael Franz, co director of the Wesleyan Media Project, said data centers give both political parties talking points they want to use.

The Democratic Party of Oregon responded saying Christine Drazan had opportunity after opportunity to stand up against data centers and every time chose not to

Olivia Davis, spokeswoman for the Democratic Governors Association, said data centers are creating deep concerns around affordability and utility costs.

A Republican Party operative said the most popular Republican position is that data centers could be acceptable as long as they pay for their own energy.

President Trump said on Truth Social: 'The only reason that communities throughout the U.S.A. should not want Data Centers is if they want to end up being backwards and poor'

Verrus, the Google backed company, must resubmit application with noise study, separate application for each development site, and archaeological review

Microsoft backed data center in Vineland was caught with 27 unpermitted gas fired generators, disclosed more energy use and more air pollution than promised to community

Oregon data center market is one of the largest in the world due to property tax incentives and lack of a sales tax, with data centers first appearing around 2006

Governor Kotek is committed to making sure Oregonians see lower utility costs and protecting Oregon's clean air and water regarding data centers

Drazan supports local communities declining to host data centers but opposes an arbitrary moratorium

Verrus submitted Salem data center project on Friday to move ahead before Monday city council moratorium vote

Christine Drazan said Oregon 'has done more than its fair share, and we cannot continue to be the Wild West for data center development'

Verrus operated under nondisclosure agreement from March 2025 through July 10, 2026 before submitting Salem project

ABC News correspondent Elizabeth Schulze obtained exclusive access inside a Google data center

Callee Ackland, Springfield city council candidate, calls for a moratorium on new data center development

Kotek has come out in support of local moratoriums on data centers in advance of statewide actions on the committee's recommendations

Gov. Tina Kotek plans to introduce legislation on data centers in the 2027 legislative session

The bill would incorporate recommendations from Kotek's Data Center Advisory Committee

A statewide moratorium on data centers is unlikely to make the final bill

Chavez DeRemer says she will focus on investments in energy and data center infrastructure to support AI industry

Chris Carpenter, IBEW Local 48 political director, told Hillsboro City Council his members had serious concerns with the city's plans for a temporary data center moratorium.

Commissioner Diana Helm said a data center could come into the county and that officials are trying to put a pause on anything happening until they have done their research

Lori Chavez DeRemer accepted newly created role as senior adviser for labor and national infrastructure at Think Big to advocate for data center industry

SEDCOR director Erik Andersson cited Verrus's more sustainable approach as reason for selection

Oregon Governor Tina Kotek is backing efforts by local governments to halt data center development, saying more needs to be done to prevent Oregonians from footing the bill.

Commissioner Diana Helm stated her goal is to enact a countywide moratorium on data centers until state lawmakers address the matter in the 2027 legislative session

Altman previously publicly pointed out that the space data center initiative is not realistic.

Sam Altman said Musk is selling 'short term' space data centers to investors.

Commissioner Diana Helm said data centers are necessary for smartphones, cloud storage and artificial intelligence

County director Dan Johnson suggested data centers should be limited to industrial areas, which would require amending the code

Commissioner Martha Schrader expressed concern about electrical grid capacity and potential rate hikes from data centers

Layoffs due to end of contract with client at Prineville location

Meta plans to rehire the majority of staff through a different firm as part of vendor partnership change

Prineville is home to both Facebook and Apple data centers with 15 year tax exemptions beginning to expire

Meta and Apple funded nearly the entire aquifer system

Data centers pay same water rates and system development charges as any other industrial developer

Regulations will likely aim to protect energy infrastructure and water supplies from being overburdened

Greg LeRoy, executive director of Good Jobs First, stated that since Oregon has no sales tax, it is property taxes that are the big dollars attracting data centers

Apple has committed to supporting 100 percent of its energy use in Prineville with renewable resources

Kotek voted in 2012 to pass bill ensuring tech companies operating data centers in state enterprise zones are only taxed on value of physical assets under five to ten year property tax breaks