Volusia County Council Prohibits Large-Scale Data Centers in Unincorporated Lands

The Volusia County Council on Tuesday voted to prohibit large-scale data centers in unincorporated parts of the county. The vote was unanimous at 6-0. Data centers which are banned under this new ordinance are those with an anticipated monthly peak load of at least 50 megawatts. Any applications for such a data center cannot be accepted or processed by the county. Furthermore, proposals to expand or intensify existing data centers cannot be considered if the end result exceeds the outlined parameters. The county government cannot approve any applications, development approvals, comprehensive plan amendments, rezoning, building permits, or site plans for large-scale data centers under this new ordinance. “West Volusia is most susceptible to sinkholes,” said County Councilman Don Dempsey. “If we have that much water getting sucked out of our aquifer at one time, I mean, it’s, it’s unfathomable how many sinkholes could pop up.” The 50-megawatt limit on data centers is no arbitrary number. It’s how the Florida law defines a large-scale data center via SB-484, a statute which took effect on July 1, 2026. Recent research appears to indicate a growing public sentiment against data centers. 54% of Americans believe they harm the environment according to Pew Research Center, an increase of 15 points from January. 50% say data centers are bad for home energy costs, and 49% say they’re bad for local quality of life.