Smithfield is reviewing a complex that could include a data center.
Context & source notes
Provenance: Paraphrased; said in the source itself.
Primary source: Uprise RI (opens in a new tab).
Data centers in Rhode Island
- 1 Records
- 0 Running
- 1 Proposed
- 1 Not yet verified
- 0 MW disclosed
- 0 Located to a site
- 3 Rule rows, 2 rated
- 6 Sources read
Rhode Island has 1 data center site, 0 buildings where disclosed on the record: 1 proposed. It is in Providence County. The largest proposal is Data Center in Woods of Smithfield in Providence County; it is reported.
How to read this page. Every count comes from the records on this page and links to where it is counted. Nothing is published until a person reads its source, and a figure no source gives reads Not disclosed; nothing is estimated. A rating changes only when a person sets it.
Projects and campuses on the record
| Facility and county | Stage | Operator | Power (MW) | Latest entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data Center in Woods of Smithfield Smithfield, Providence County | Proposed |
A blank cell means not disclosed by any source on file. Power is the developer's figure or a permit's, each linked on the record. All 1 Rhode Island project.
Every Rhode Island record 1 record, and 1 site not yet verified listed apart · sort by any column · blank cell: not disclosed
| Record | Place | Stage | Operator | MW | Basis | Located | Tier | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Citizens Bank Data Center | East Providence, Providence | Not yet verified | EPA registry | 2 | 2026-10-20 | |||
| Data Center in Woods of Smithfield | Smithfield, Providence | Proposed | centroid | 4 | 2026-09-17 |
Tier 1: an official or company source. Tier 2: a news report resolving to the outlet's own page. Located: a site coordinate from a permit, a parcel or an address, or the county or town centroid. Verified: the last day a person read the source. A blank cell means not disclosed by any source on file.
Every Rhode Island county (5)
| County | Census GEOID | Projects |
|---|---|---|
| Providence County | 44007 | |
| Bristol County | 44001 | 0 |
| Kent County | 44003 | 0 |
| Newport County | 44005 | 0 |
| Washington County | 44009 | 0 |
A county without a record is listed, not linked.
The rules in Rhode Island 3 rows · rating rests only on a binding act in force
What the state and its counties and cities have decided. Each row is rated by what it has decided, open, case by case, restrictive or closed, never by whether that is good or bad.
| Body | Level | Rating | In force until | Latest act | Acts | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rhode Island | state | not rated | Rhode Island bills set a mandatory 50 megawatt threshold for data center cost recovery, stricter than the federal 100 MW standard. upriseri.com (opens in a new tab) local outlet Reported Sep 233 acts on this rowEvery act on the Rhode Island row
| 3 | 2026-09-23 | |
| Smithfield | city | Smithfield passed a data center ban ordinance on May 5. thewesterlysun.com (opens in a new tab) local outlet May 5, 20261 act on this rowEvery act on the Smithfield row
| 1 | 2026-09-23 | ||
| Hopkinton | city | until November 3, 2026 | 2026-11-03 | Hopkinton Council adopted a 60 day data center moratorium. upriseri.com (opens in a new tab) local outlet Sep 4, 20262 acts on this rowEvery act on the Hopkinton row
| 2 | 2026-09-23 |
Reported: the source's date; the item names no day of its own. A rating rests only on a binding act in force; "not rated" means no person has set one. A blank cell means the record holds nothing for it.
Bills and laws in Rhode Island
none signed into law yet, 6 bills tracked
In committee 6, 5 shown here
S. 2776 In committee
What it says and where it is from
PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS -- PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION - Requires that certain data centers requiring large amounts of electricity be required to fund the cost of necessary infrastructure improvements to supply such electricity. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.
H. 7695 In committee
What it says and where it is from
STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- RHODE ISLAND COMMERCE CORPORATION - Establishes property, tangible, sales and use tax exemptions as incentives for the location of qualified data centers in Rhode Island. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.
S. 2346 In committee
What it says and where it is from
STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- RHODE ISLAND COMMERCE CORPORATION - Establishes property, tangible, sales and use tax exemptions as incentives for the location of qualified data centers in Rhode Island. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.
H. 7331 In committee
What it says and where it is from
PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS -- PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION - Requires that certain data centers requiring large amounts of electricity be required to fund the cost of necessary infrastructure improvements to supply such electricity. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.
Creates qualified data centers and tax exemptions.
S. 921 In committee
What it says and where it is from
STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- RHODE ISLAND COMMERCE CORPORATION -- QUALIFIED DATA CENTERS LOCATION INCENTIVE - Creates qualified data centers and tax exemptions. As published by the legislature, found through LegiScan.
6 bills tracked, 0 signed · LegiScan, CC BY 4.0
| Number | Session | Status | Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S. 2776 | 2026 Regular Session | In committee | 2026-03-04 | Requires that certain data centers requiring large amounts of electricity be required to fund the cost of necessary infrastructure improvements to supply such electricity. |
| H. 7695 | 2026 Regular Session | In committee | 2026-02-11 | Establishes property, tangible, sales and use tax exemptions as incentives for the location of qualified data centers in Rhode Island. |
| S. 2346 | 2026 Regular Session | In committee | 2026-01-30 | Establishes property, tangible, sales and use tax exemptions as incentives for the location of qualified data centers in Rhode Island. |
| H. 7331 | 2026 Regular Session | In committee | 2026-01-28 | Requires that certain data centers requiring large amounts of electricity be required to fund the cost of necessary infrastructure improvements to supply such electricity. |
| S. 921 | 2025 Regular Session | In committee | 2025-03-28 | Creates qualified data centers and tax exemptions. |
| H. 6097 | 2025 Regular Session | In committee | 2025-03-14 | Creates qualified data centers and tax exemptions. |
6 bills tracked in Rhode Island; 2026 Regular Session, legislature adjourned; last checked October 26, 2026. The last check found no bill not already tracked; the 6 tracked bills stand. Search terms: data center, data centre, large load, hyperscale, computing facility, server farm, high load factor (indirect), energy intensive facility (indirect), large electric load (indirect), digital asset mining (indirect), cryptocurrency mining (indirect), qualified technology facility (indirect), colocation (indirect), moratorium (with another term), sales tax exemption (with another term). The search on LegiScan. (opens in a new tab)
Bill data from LegiScan (opens in a new tab), licensed CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab). The record chooses the bills, writes each stage in its own words and cites the legislature's own page for every bill.
How this state's members voted
| Member | Party | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Amo | D | Yea |
| Magaziner | D | Yea |
A blank party cell means the clerk's roll gives none.
| Member | Party | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Reed (D-RI) | D | Nay |
| Whitehouse (D-RI) | D | Nay |
A blank party cell means the clerk's roll gives none.
Positions as the clerk records them. How bills and votes are recorded.
What happened
-
Scorecard eventRhode Island
upriseri.com (opens in a new tab) local outlet -
Moratorium adoptedHopkinton
upriseri.com (opens in a new tab) local outlet -
Scorecard eventRhode Island
Rhode Island legislature failed to pass operational guardrails for data centers
route-fifty.com (opens in a new tab) national outlet -
MoratoriumHopkinton
thewesterlysun.com (opens in a new tab) local outlet -
Moratorium adoptedSmithfield
thewesterlysun.com (opens in a new tab) local outlet -
Scorecard eventRhode Island
upriseri.com (opens in a new tab) local outlet
What was said
White House Ratepayer Protection Pledge signed by Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle and xAI on March 4, 2026
Lou DiPalma, Rhode Island state senator, said he and others submitted both successful and unsuccessful data center tech proposals in 2026
Every Rhode Island statement, by speaker (3)
1 more on this page, one per speaker and claim; 3 statements in all
On the November 3, 2026 ballot in Rhode Island: Governor (5), U.S. Senate (3), U.S. House, District 1 (3), U.S. House, District 2 (2); 0 of 13 candidates with a statement on data centers on the record. Every candidate.
Questions about Rhode Island data centers
How many data center projects are on the record in Rhode Island?
1 project is on the record in Rhode Island: 1 reported and 1 not yet verified. Each is listed under Projects with its status history and sources. Resources: the questions people ask about data centers
answered from the rows aboveWhere in Rhode Island are they?
Records are in 1 county: Providence County (1). The county table lists every county with its count, zero included. Resources: the questions people ask about data centers
answered from the rows aboveHow much power is disclosed for data centers in Rhode Island?
Not disclosed. None of the 1 record on file for Rhode Island states a power figure. Resources: the questions people ask about data centers
answered from the rows aboveHow much water do data centers in Rhode Island say they will use?
Not disclosed. None of the 1 record on file for Rhode Island states a water figure. Resources: the questions people ask about data centers
answered from the rows aboveWho is building data centers in Rhode Island?
Not disclosed. None of the 1 record on file for Rhode Island states a developer. Resources: the questions people ask about data centers
answered from the rows aboveWhich counties and cities in Rhode Island have rules about data centers?
2 county and city rows are on the record: Smithfield is rated closed: Smithfield passed a data center ban ordinance on May 5, source (opens in a new tab) and Hopkinton is rated restrictive: Hopkinton Council adopted a 60 day data center moratorium, September 4, 2026, source (opens in a new tab). Every row and its dated events are on the scorecard. Resources: the questions people ask about data centers
answered from the rows aboveWhat is proposed or being built near me in Rhode Island, by county?
1 record is not yet running. Providence County: Data Center in Woods of Smithfield (reported). A county name opens its page with the map and every record there. Resources: the questions people ask about data centers
answered from the rows aboveWhat has the state of Rhode Island itself decided?
No bill on data centers has been signed into law in Rhode Island yet. 6 bills are tracked under Laws: 6 in committee. The state's own scorecard row carries 3 dated acts, the newest reported September 23, 2026. Resources: the questions people ask about data centers
answered from the rows above Disclosed figures
nothing disclosed by 1 record
summed only where a record disclosed the figure
| Figure | Disclosed total | Disclosed | Without a figure | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power | 0 | 1 | ||
| Water, stated per day | 0 | 1 | ||
| Water, stated per year | 0 | 1 | ||
| Permanent jobs | 0 | 1 | ||
| Tax each year | 0 | 1 |
A blank cell means no record in Rhode Island disclosed the figure. Third party figures on the same metrics are listed apart below; a figure a project disclosed about itself is never mixed with them.
| Figure | Disclosed total | Disclosed | Without a figure | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power | 0 | 1 | ||
| Water, stated per day | 0 | 1 | ||
| Water, stated per year | 0 | 1 | ||
| Permanent jobs | 0 | 1 | ||
| Tax each year | 0 | 1 |
A blank total means no record disclosed the figure; the count without one says how many.
Summed only where a record disclosed the figure; a record with no figure adds nothing and is counted as not disclosed. Water is summed per day and per year separately, as the sources stated it, and never converted. A tax claim given as a range is summed at both ends.
The disclosed totals are in the table above.
No source on file states what any of the 1 tracked facility in Rhode Island is for. 1 site not yet verified is named apart and is not in that number.
What each use disclosed
| Use | Records | Power | Water | Jobs | Tax each year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No stated use | 1 |
A blank cell means no record with that use disclosed the figure.
A record that lists several uses counts once under each. Each cell is the sum over the records with that use, disclosed rows only.
No source on file states how any of the 1 tracked facility in Rhode Island is cooled. 1 site not yet verified is named apart and is not in that number.
Sources read for Rhode Island
6 sources
- Newspapers
- The Call
- Public broadcaster
- The Publics Radio
- Utility commission dockets
- Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission
- Economic development
- Rhode Island Executive Office of Commerce
- Search feeds
- 2 news searches
Every feed, with its kind and tier
Search feeds
Newspapers
- The Call (opens in a new tab) feed, tier 4
Public broadcaster
- The Publics Radio (opens in a new tab) feed, tier 4
Utility commission dockets
Economic development
About this data
Last verified
Next check Feeds every four hours, pages daily.
Figures Only what a source states, with its basis. Nothing is estimated, and a figure no source gives reads not disclosed.
License Data CC BY-NC 4.0 (opens in a new tab); free for personal, academic, civic and newsroom reporting with attribution. Commercial, enterprise, financial or AI training use needs a commercial license. Prose stays under copyright.
Report a correction · Send a tip about Rhode Island
Cite this page
Data Center Record, "Data center records in Rhode Island", https://datacenterrecord.org/states/ri. Data: Data Center Record, datacenterrecord.org, CC BY-NC 4.0.
The structured rows are CC BY-NC 4.0. Link to this page; that is what turns a reuse into a citation. Prose stays under copyright.
For researchers
- State code
- RI
- Rating of the state's own row
- None, no statewide rule
- Count by status
- reported 1, not yet verified 1
- Located records
- 0 located, 1 at a centroid, 0 without coordinates