Provo council narrows data-center code, capping on-site power and limiting evaporative cooling; measure passes 5-1

Provo City Council on April 28 adopted amendments to the citys data-center regulations that remove on-site power generation as a permitted use and limit evaporative cooling, measures staff said will protect the municipal grid and reduce water use.

Planning and sustainability coordinator Hannah Salvo told the council the modifications stem from field testing the code adopted last September and consultations with the Utah Municipal Power Agency (UMPA) and other departments. "First, it would remove power generation as a permitted use because UMPA caps any data center over 50 megawatts that needs to generate their own power on site," Salvo said, adding the change would effectively cap a permitted data center at 50 megawatts.

Salvo said the amendments also would require non-evaporative cooling measures to reduce water footprint and would prevent discharge of cooling water into municipal wastewater systems. The proposal narrows some third-party environmental analysis requirements because, she said, removing major environmental footprints reduces the need for additional studies.

The Planning Commission had recommended against an outright prohibition on power generation and suggested performance-based conditional uses instead. Council members debated limited points and opened the item to public comment (none was recorded). The council approved the ordinance amendment 5-1; Councilmember Becky Bogden cast the lone no vote and Vice Chair Christensen was excused.

The ordinance preserves the councils high-level discretion to evaluate individual data-center applications while aligning municipal code with UMPAs limits, staff said. The measure will change what utilities and development proposals need to demonstrate during future permitting and could steer larger data-center projects to sites or arrangements that meet UMPAs requirements.