Kent County

Moratoriums and bans

1. July 21, 2026 Kent County: Zoning ordinance. Levy Court approved Ordinance LC26-06 by a 7-0 vote on Tuesday, July 21, 2026 (the date is inferred from reporting). The rules apply in unincorporated areas and allow data centers with conditions only in Limited or General Industrial zones. They set a 55 dB noise limit at the property line, require 300 ft between buildings and residential zoning and 400 ft for generators and cooling equipment (300 ft if enclosed), and call for buffers, proof of water and power capacity, and a general ban on open-loop cooling. Abandoned facilities must be removed, backed by 100% financial assurance. There is no MW cap. Commissioners said a moratorium or ban could be taken up later through separate legislation. (Delaware Public Media, July 22, 2026; WDEL, undated; Technical.ly, July 23, 2026)
2. Oct. 12, 2026 Dover: Moratorium. City Council voted unanimously for an 18-month pause on large energy-use facilities, including data centers using more than 30 MW, while the city studies whether to allow them and how to regulate them. Councilwoman Donyale Hall introduced it, and Spotlight Delaware described it as Delaware's first municipal data center moratorium. A council committee backed it on Aug. 11, 2026, and the full council signaled support in late September ahead of the Oct. 12 final vote. No formal application had been filed. (Spotlight Delaware, Aug. 10, 2026; Spotlight Delaware, Aug. 13, 2026; Delaware Public Media, Aug. 13, 2026; Delaware Public Media, Sept. 30, 2026; Spotlight Delaware, Oct. 13, 2026)
3. Aug. 17, 2026 Harrington: Zoning change rejected. City Council unanimously rejected Ordinance 25-08, which would have made data centers a conditional use in manufacturing zones. Without it, data centers are not allowed in city limits. (WBOC, Jan. 8, 2026; WBOC, Aug. 17, 2026; Delaware Public Media, Aug. 18, 2026; Spotlight Delaware, Aug. 19, 2026)
4. Oct. 19, 2026 Harrington: Ban (proposed). City Council scheduled a first reading for Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, of an ordinance that would ban data center projects inside city limits. A formal hearing is to be set later. (Spotlight Delaware, Oct. 19, 2026)

Updates, newest first

1. Oct. 19, 2026 Harrington: Ban (proposed) · City Council scheduled a first reading for Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, of an ordinance that would ban data center projects inside city limits. A formal hearing is to be set later. (Spotlight Delaware, Oct. 19, 2026)
2. Oct. 12, 2026 Dover: Moratorium · City Council voted unanimously for an 18-month pause on large energy-use facilities, including data centers using more than 30 MW, while the city studies whether to allow them and how to regulate them. Councilwoman Donyale Hall introduced it, and Spotlight Delaware described it as Delaware's first municipal data center moratorium. A council committee backed it on Aug. 11, 2026, and the full council signaled support in late September ahead of the Oct. 12 final vote. No formal application had been filed. (Spotlight Delaware, Aug. 10, 2026; Spotlight Delaware, Aug. 13, 2026; Delaware Public Media, Aug. 13, 2026; Delaware Public Media, Sept. 30, 2026; Spotlight Delaware, Oct. 13, 2026)
3. Aug. 17, 2026 Harrington data center (former Harrington Logistics cold storage building) · Council voted unanimously to reject the ordinance after residents opposed it. The proposal had included a draft $1 million community benefits offer. (WBOC, Aug. 17, 2026; Delaware Public Media, Aug. 18, 2026; Spotlight Delaware, Aug. 19, 2026; Technical.ly, Aug. 20, 2026)
4. Aug. 17, 2026 Harrington: Zoning change rejected · City Council unanimously rejected Ordinance 25-08, which would have made data centers a conditional use in manufacturing zones. Without it, data centers are not allowed in city limits. (WBOC, Jan. 8, 2026; WBOC, Aug. 17, 2026; Delaware Public Media, Aug. 18, 2026; Spotlight Delaware, Aug. 19, 2026)
5. July 21, 2026 Kent County: Zoning ordinance · Levy Court approved Ordinance LC26-06 by a 7-0 vote on Tuesday, July 21, 2026 (the date is inferred from reporting). The rules apply in unincorporated areas and allow data centers with conditions only in Limited or General Industrial zones. They set a 55 dB noise limit at the property line, require 300 ft between buildings and residential zoning and 400 ft for generators and cooling equipment (300 ft if enclosed), and call for buffers, proof of water and power capacity, and a general ban on open-loop cooling. Abandoned facilities must be removed, backed by 100% financial assurance. There is no MW cap. Commissioners said a moratorium or ban could be taken up later through separate legislation. (Delaware Public Media, July 22, 2026; WDEL, undated; Technical.ly, July 23, 2026)
6. Dec. 15, 2025 Harrington data center (former Harrington Logistics cold storage building) · Harrington council put off a vote on Ordinance 25-08, which would allow data centers as a conditional use in manufacturing zones. The vacant former Harrington Logistics building, about 220,000 sq ft, was discussed as a possible site. (WBOC, Jan. 8, 2026)

Statewide

No data center sales-tax exemption exists because Delaware levies no state or local sales tax at all; businesses instead pay a gross receipts tax on sellers. (Delaware Division of Revenue, undated) Delaware PSC Docket 25-0826 (Order No. 10816, Sept. 3, 2025), opened on a joint petition of PSC Staff and the Public Advocate after a 1.2 GW data center was proposed in Delmarva's territory, directs Delmarva Power to file a large-load tariff for customers with monthly peak demand of 25 MW or more and requires that tariff to be in place before any new load of that size is interconnected. (Delaware Public Service Commission, Sept. 3, 2025; State of Delaware (Division of the Public Advocate / PSC), Oct. 14, 2025) Status of Docket 25-0826: written public comment on Delmarva's proposed tariff was extended to April 6, 2026, and Delmarva also suggested lifting the threshold to 50 MW; PSC Staff, DNREC and the Public Advocate then filed joint comments (posted April 9, 2026) that flagged risks to customers and asked for a more deliberate process; no final tariff decision was found as of Oct. 27, 2026. (Technical.ly, March 3, 2026; Delaware Public Service Commission, April 9, 2026) HS 1 for HB 233 (Rep. Burns; Sen. Hansen) requires PSC-regulated utilities to put large energy-use facilities in their own rate class, requires PSC approval of their electric service agreements before interconnection, sets minimum terms for transmission security agreements, and puts these facilities first in line for cutoff in grid emergencies unless they build new in-state generation; signed Aug. 26, 2026, 85 Del. Laws c. 440. (Delaware General Assembly, Aug. 26, 2026; Delaware General Assembly, May 21, 2026; Office of the Governor, State of Delaware, Aug. 26, 2026) HB 445 (Rep. Heffernan; Sen. Hansen) requires large energy-use facilities to give the PSC a ramp-up plan under which, by their 10th year of operation, they produce or secure all of the power they use, with a renewable component (the bill's original synopsis describes in-state production); signed Aug. 26, 2026, 85 Del. Laws c. 442. (Delaware General Assembly, Aug. 26, 2026; Office of the Governor, State of Delaware, Aug. 26, 2026) HB 310 (Rep. Heffernan) makes large energy-use facilities ineligible for Delaware's job-creation business tax credits and license fee reductions; signed Aug. 26, 2026, 85 Del. Laws c. 441. (Delaware General Assembly, Aug. 26, 2026; Office of the Governor, State of Delaware, Aug. 26, 2026) SB 326 adds limits and closer oversight on non-mandatory capital spending that utilities such as Delmarva can pass on to residential customers; signed Aug. 26, 2026 along with the data center bills. (Office of the Governor, State of Delaware, Aug. 26, 2026; Spotlight Delaware, July 1, 2026) SB 205 (Sen. Hansen; Rep. Burns) would require a PSC Certificate to Operate before a facility starts, or expands to, using 30 MW or more; its status shows it out of committee March 11, 2026, and it was not enacted separately; Spotlight Delaware reported that the HB 233 substitute combined the original HB 233 with SB 205. (Delaware General Assembly, March 11, 2026; Delaware Public Media, Sept. 29, 2025; Spotlight Delaware, June 8, 2026) SB 353 (Sen. Buckson; Rep. M. Smith) would have placed a statewide moratorium through Jan. 31, 2027 on applications and permits for large-scale data center development; a June 30, 2026 motion to suspend the rules so the Senate could take it up drew 6 yes and 15 no votes, and the bill page shows no further action. (Delaware General Assembly, June 30, 2026; Spotlight Delaware, July 1, 2026) Coastal Zone Act: in February 2026 DNREC found Starwood's 1.2 GW Project Washington near Delaware City to be a use the 1971 Coastal Zone Act does not allow, pointing to 516 backup generators and more than 2.5 million gallons of stored diesel. (Delaware Public Media, Feb. 4, 2026) Gov. Matt Meyer and Public Advocate Jameson Tweedie asked the PSC in 2025 to make data centers over 25 MW pay their share of grid connection costs; no executive order on data centers was found. Meyer signed HB 233, HB 310, HB 445 and SB 326 on Aug. 26, 2026. (State of Delaware (Division of the Public Advocate / PSC), Oct. 14, 2025; Office of the Governor, State of Delaware, Aug. 26, 2026) Delaware data centers →