In the shadow of the data center capital of the world, a Virginia county board just unanimously killed a 43-million-square-foot mega-campus — a vote that almost never happens. And the same week, communities from Florida to Texas to Indiana pushed back on every front, federal regulators ordered the entire grid to adapt, and Anthropic dropped a $19 billion bet on a tiny Kentucky river town. Here's what's reshaping the U.S. data center landscape right now.<br /><br />🚨 **COMMUNITY** — Prince William County, Virginia supervisors voted 8–0 on July 7 to deny the ~2,000-acre Dulles South Innovation Center, which could have brought up to 43 million square feet of data centers to 252 farm-and-forest parcels near the Loudoun County border. About 100 protesters rallied outside and ~95 speakers addressed a five-hour hearing; county staff recommended denial over roads, water, sewer and rural character. (Source: InsideNoVa / WTOP)<br /><br />🚨 **COMMUNITY** — Lakeland, Florida is drafting a one-year moratorium on any data center or industrial facility needing 50+ MW, spurred by opposition to Project Swan — a 600,000 sq ft Ryan Companies facility that would need ~100 MW in a city whose largest current power user draws 18 MW. Resident Kristie Poma, who manages a heart and lung condition, told commissioners she fears diesel generator emissions. Final vote August 3. (Source: Bay News 9 / The Ledger)<br /><br />🚨 **COMMUNITY** — Bell County, Texas residents demanded commissioners scrap data center tax abatements entirely on July 7. Farmer Alton Fowler said the companies are "already ahead"; Joe Royer questioned a double abatement for Meta's Temple facility. Commissioners kept the incentives but scheduled workshops July 27–Aug 17 and an amended policy by September 8. (Source: KWTX)<br /><br />🏛️ **POLICY** — Nearly a third of Indiana's 92 counties now restrict data centers, per Indiana University's Environmental Resilience Institute: 11 with ordinances, 17+ with moratoriums, and outright bans in Marshall and Cass counties. Indianapolis's Metropolitan Development Commission voted 5–3 on July 1 to advance new zoning rules; New Albany's one-year moratorium gets a final vote July 16. (Source: WFYI)<br /><br />⚡ **POWER** — FERC issued Section 206 show-cause orders to all six regional grid operators — PJM, MISO, SPP, CAISO, ISO-NE and NYISO — to justify or rewrite large-load interconnection rules. Generation-adequacy reports are due July 20 and full responses August 17, covering cost-shifting, co-location, behind-the-meter generation and flexible-load services. (Source: FERC / Morgan Lewis)<br /><br />🤖 **AI/TECH** — Nuclear startup Valar Atomics powered an Nvidia Blackwell desktop live on stage with its Ward250 helium-cooled microreactor, which went critical June 18 — a first for a nuclear startup. Valar and Nvidia are exploring a 30 MW closed-loop AI factory in Orangeville, Utah that would use almost no local water, cutting cooling water from ~2.6 million gallons per MW per year to near zero. (Source: Deseret News / Tom's Hardw
