Bannock County

Moratoriums and bans

1. July 30, 2026 Bannock County: Moratorium. Commissioners adopted Emergency Moratorium Ordinance No. 2026-02, pausing data center applications in unincorporated Bannock County for 180 days (through Jan. 26, 2027) while staff draft a data center ordinance; it does not apply inside Pocatello or other cities. (Bannock County Board of Commissioners, July 30, 2026; Bannock County, Oct. 27, 2026; Local News 8 (KIFI), Aug. 4, 2026)

Updates, newest first

1. July 30, 2026 Bannock County: Moratorium · Commissioners adopted Emergency Moratorium Ordinance No. 2026-02, pausing data center applications in unincorporated Bannock County for 180 days (through Jan. 26, 2027) while staff draft a data center ordinance; it does not apply inside Pocatello or other cities. (Bannock County Board of Commissioners, July 30, 2026; Bannock County, Oct. 27, 2026; Local News 8 (KIFI), Aug. 4, 2026)
2. July 16, 2026 Lex Developments AI data center, Pocatello (Project IV West) · The City Council voted 4-1 to uphold the denial; the developer said it would appeal. (EastIdahoNews.com, July 16, 2026; BoiseDev, July 20, 2026)
3. May 14, 2026 Lex Developments AI data center, Pocatello (Project IV West) · The city hearing examiner held a public hearing on the conditional use permit; about 90 people testified, about 60 of them opposed, as reported. (BoiseDev, May 14, 2026; EastIdahoNews.com, May 15, 2026)
4. May 2026 Lex Developments AI data center, Pocatello (Project IV West) · The hearing examiner denied the permit, finding the application did not show the project would not harm public health, safety or welfare; the developer appealed to the City Council. (BoiseDev, June 10, 2026)
5. Feb. 2026 Lex Developments AI data center, Pocatello (Project IV West) · Idaho Power wrote that the project would add more than 100 MW of load, as reported. (BoiseDev, May 14, 2026)

Statewide

Since July 1, 2020, server equipment and the construction of new data center facilities are exempt from Idaho sales and use tax for a data center business that commits to invest at least $250 million within five years of starting construction and to create at least 30 new jobs paying at least the county's average wage within two years of opening; the exemption is provisional until both are met and cannot be combined with the state's tax reimbursement incentive (Idaho Code 63-3622VV, House Bill 521 of 2020). (Idaho Legislature, Oct. 27, 2026; Idaho Department of Commerce, Oct. 27, 2026) A taxpayer that invests at least $1 billion at one project site over 84 months pays property tax on no more than $400 million of taxable value in that county (Idaho Code 63-4502, since 2008); reporting says Meta's Kuna campus reached the cap in 2025 and that Lex Developments' Pocatello project would have qualified. (Idaho Legislature, Oct. 27, 2026; Gem State Chronicle, Aug. 3, 2026; BoiseDev, May 14, 2026) House Bill 911 (2026; Idaho Code 61-335, Session Law Chapter 335, in effect July 1, 2026) says a utility may serve a new large load (an increase of 50 MW or more within 60 months under a contract signed on or after July 1, 2026) only under a service contract the Public Utilities Commission approves after a 'no harm' test; the load must pay its full cost of service, post financial security against stranded costs, and the commission must decide within 270 days. (Idaho Legislature, April 10, 2026; Idaho Legislature, March 17, 2026) House Bill 895 (2026; Idaho Code 42-252, Session Law Chapter 291, in effect July 1, 2026) bars data centers that begin construction on or after July 1, 2026 from consumptive use of water for cooling unless the water comes from a city, water district or water and sewer district system, and declares that data centers' water needs conflict with the local public interest when new water rights or transfers are reviewed. (Idaho Legislature, April 2, 2026; Idaho Legislature, March 13, 2026) House Bill 897 (2026), which would have narrowed the data center sales tax exemption and revised the $400 million property tax cap, passed the House 68-0 and, as amended, the Senate 34-0, but was referred back to a House committee for a concurrence recommendation on April 2 and did not become law; an earlier version (House Bill 609) never left committee. (Idaho Legislature, April 2, 2026; Idaho Legislature, Feb. 10, 2026; Idaho Conservation League, March 23, 2026; Gem State Chronicle, Aug. 3, 2026) Idaho Power serves customers above 20 MW under special contracts the Public Utilities Commission approves; in Case IPC-E-21-42 the commission approved, on May 11, 2023 (Order No. 35777), an energy services agreement and Tariff Schedule 33 for Brisbie, LLC's data center in the Kuna area. (Idaho Public Utilities Commission (filed by Idaho Power), Dec. 22, 2021; Idaho Public Utilities Commission, May 12, 2023) On March 31, 2026 Idaho Power asked the Public Utilities Commission to review how it assigns costs among customer classes and to decide how costs should be handled for new large-load customers (Case IPC-E-26-07); a schedule was set in September 2026 and the case was pending when checked. (Idaho Public Utilities Commission, Oct. 20, 2026) Idaho data centers →