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Crawford County Commission extends one-year moratorium on energy, crypto and data facilities; nuclear to be handled separately
Summary
The Crawford County Commission voted to extend a county moratorium for one year to allow updates to the comprehensive plan and zoning before permitting wind, solar, battery storage, cryptocurrency mining systems and data centers; commissioners instructed staff to draft a separate resolution for small-scale nuclear facilities.
The Crawford County Commission voted to extend a moratorium for one year on new energy and data facilities while staff updates the county's comprehensive plan and zoning rules.
Speaker 3 moved to adopt the one-year extension, referenced as Resolution 2025-034, and Speaker 1 seconded; the motion carried on a voice vote recorded in the transcript as "Aye." Speaker 5 told commissioners he circulated two clean drafts (a 12-month and a 6-month option) and had added cryptocurrency and data centers to the moratorium language per commissioners' request.
Why it matters: Commissioners said the pause will allow the county to finish a comprehensive-plan update and, if needed, adopt zoning amendments before permitting facilities that may have significant land-use and infrastructure impacts.
Commissioners debated the appropriate length of the moratorium. Speaker 2 noted a six-month pause could be extended if necessary and a 12-month pause could be rescinded early if the comprehensive plan were completed sooner. Speaker 3 said he favored a one-year moratorium but asked staff to draft a separate resolution that explicitly addresses "mini nuclear" facilities; Speaker 5 agreed to prepare a nuclear-specific resolution and aimed to have it ready by Tuesday.
Speaker 5 said consultant Josh Albin expects the comprehensive-plan vote to be ready by May 1; "He says he's confident in a May 1 date for a vote," Speaker 5 stated. Speaker 3 voiced concern that new facilities were targeting the county: "They're headed to Crawford County next," he said, prompting Speaker 5 to respond that he had not heard that but that a separate nuclear resolution could be prepared.
The moratorium as amended in the meeting explicitly added cryptocurrency mining systems, Bitcoin mining systems and data centers, and continued coverage of wind, solar and battery storage technologies. The commission recorded the one-year extension to run through Dec. 31, 2026, per remarks in the discussion, with the option to rescind earlier if the comprehensive plan is adopted.
Next steps: Staff will circulate the final signed resolution copies for signatures and counsel review, and the commission asked staff to prepare a separate resolution addressing small-scale nuclear facilities for consideration at the next available meeting.
