Millington has become the latest Memphis-area government to hit the brakes on data center development, with the Board of Mayor and Aldermen approving a six-month moratorium on new applications for data centers and related facilities on October 12. The freeze, which took effect immediately under Resolution 44-2026, blocks new applications for non-grid power generation, accessory computing, and industrial-scale facilities through April 12, 2027, and may be extended.
The resolution gives city officials time to study how such projects could affect infrastructure, utility access, traffic, public safety, noise, and neighborhood aesthetics before drafting formal zoning amendments, according to Millington, TN City Records. Millington City Manager Frankie Dakin said the pause was prompted by a desire to establish appropriate regulations before data center applications are even submitted, as reported by the Daily Memphian. With the vote, Millington joins other Memphis-area governments moving to regulate data centers as the industry's footprint across Shelby County continues to grow.
Memphis and Shelby County Still Sorting Out Their Own Rules
Millington's move lands amid a far messier regulatory fight just down the road in Memphis, where the City Council has twice delayed a final vote on a proposed 12-month data center moratorium, most recently postponing action on October 6 until October 20. That 7-5 vote, as reported by Business Insider, came amid opposition to rapid tech growth and followed protests from roughly 200 attendees inside City Hall that led police officers to clear the council chamber. The moratorium was proposed by Councilmember J.B. Smiley Jr.
Shelby County commissioners, meanwhile, aren't waiting on the city. The Board of Commissioners voted 5-4 on first reading on October 12 to advance its own 12-month data center moratorium ordinance for unincorporated county areas, per the Memphis Flyer. Commissioner Henri Brooks sponsored the measure to protect local greenspace and natural resources, and the ordinance mirrors the stalled Memphis city proposal, though it remains subject to further consideration before taking effect.
Memphis Mayor Paul Young has also stepped in independently of the council. On October 9, he issued an executive order establishing a 90-day study period. The order came as council deliberations remained stalled.
SpaceXAI's Colossus Buildout Looms Over the Region
The regulatory scramble traces back largely to Elon Musk's SpaceXAI and its Colossus supercomputer complex, which has expanded across multiple South Memphis sites — Colossus 1, Colossus 2, Macrohardrr, and Minihard — and is projected to house up to 1 million Nvidia GPUs while drawing up to 2 gigawatts of power, per the Introl Blog. The original Colossus became operational in just 19 days, and in May 2026, AI developer Anthropic agreed to rent all of its compute capacity for $1.25 billion per month through 2029.
Across the state line in Southaven, Mississippi, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality issued an agreed order on July 30 requiring SpaceXAI to begin decommissioning 69 unpermitted trailer-mounted gas turbines at its Stanton Road site, with full retirement mandated by July 2027, as detailed by MLQ.ai. Those turbines had been providing temporary power for the Colossus complex. The enforcement action came not long after xAI merged with SpaceX in early 2026 at a $1.25 trillion valuation.
Nashville Adopts Data Center Rules
Nashville's Metro Council adopted data center zoning regulations alongside a temporary permit moratorium through December 1, 2026, on July 21, according to WPLN News. Those rules set siting distances from several types of locations, a response to community pushback against a proposed project near the Nashville Zoo.
Memphis and Shelby County leaders remain divided on whether a blanket moratorium or immediate zoning performance standards offer the better path forward, in contrast to Nashville's already-finalized framework. The split illustrates how differently local governments across the same metro area are approaching the same underlying problem: how to regulate an industry expanding faster than most zoning codes were built to handle.
A National Wave, With Tri-State Ripples
Millington's pause fits into a much larger national pattern. Twenty-seven states are restricting or considering restrictions on data centers, according to Electric Choice. Communities nationwide are citing shared concerns over electricity grid strain, water consumption, noise pollution, and property values.
For now, Millington's smaller-scale freeze reflects a strategy playing out from City Hall boardrooms to county commission chambers: buy time now, write the rules later, before the next data center application lands on the desk.
