Montgomery County, Maryland
Maryland county advancing an 18-month data-centre moratorium and 25 MW zoning cap.
On 28 July 2026 the Montgomery County council voted unanimously for an 18-month halt on new data-centre permits and a 25 MW zoning definition, the first such limits in Maryland. Both measures had cleared committee on 22 July.
Last refreshed: 18 October 2026 · Appears in 2 active topics
Will Montgomery County's 25 MW cap become Maryland's blueprint for data-centre limits?
Timeline for Montgomery County, Maryland
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Data Centres: Boom and BacklashAdvanced an 18-month moratorium and a 25 MW zoning cap
Data Centres: Boom and Backlash: Maryland county caps campuses at 25 MWBackground
Montgomery County, Maryland, lies in the outer suburbs of Washington DC, close to the Northern Virginia cluster that holds one of the world's largest concentrations of data centres. Its council and its elected County Executive, Marc Elrich in 2026, control land use and permitting inside the county.
In July 2026 Montgomery became the first Maryland jurisdiction to restrict data-centre development. Committees advanced the measures on 22 July and the full council passed them on 28 July: an 18-month permit freeze and a zoning amendment that defines a data centre by a 25 MW threshold of aggregate monthly demand.
The threshold does not ban campuses outright. It writes a size marker into the county code, below the scale of a hyperscale site, and neighbouring counties weighing the same load now have a Maryland precedent to follow or reject.
The county writes a 25 MW rule
Two Montgomery County council committees voted on 22 July 2026 to advance an 18-month freeze on new data centres and a 25 MW zoning threshold. The freeze extends the six-month executive order County Executive Marc Elrich signed in June.
The full council passed both measures unanimously on 28 July. Expedited Bill 19-26 stops the permitting department issuing new data-centre permits for 18 months. ZTA 26-01, a permanent change to the county's land-use code, gives Montgomery its first legal definition of a data centre: a building or group of buildings with aggregate monthly electricity demand of at least 25 MW. The freeze will expire on its own clock, but the definition stays in the code until the council repeals it, so future campuses will be sized against it.
Is Montgomery County the first Maryland county to restrict data centres?
When does Montgomery County vote on the data centre moratorium?
What is Montgomery County's 25 MW data centre cap?
Why is Montgomery County limiting data centres?
Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Updated 18 October 2026. Editorial standards.