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Carroll County extends 100‑day moratorium on data centers, battery storage and solar farms
Summary
The Board voted 7-0 to pause acceptance of applications and permits for data centers, battery storage systems and solar farms for 100 days, directing staff to bring an ordinance to the planning commission in November and back to the board in December.
The Carroll County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to extend a moratorium of 100 days on accepting applications, issuing land‑disturbance permits and other permits for data centers, battery‑energy storage systems and solar farms.
County attorney Stacy Blanton told the board the extension will give staff and the planning commission time to draft ordinance language for consideration: the plan is to present the draft to the planning commission at its November meeting and return to the board in December. "At the work session, the commissioners expressed interest in extending the moratorium for another hundred days, so that's what we have here for this resolution," Blanton said. Commissioners then voted 7-0 to proceed.
The moratorium pauses permitting while the county develops enforceable standards, and it follows a lengthy public‑comment period in which multiple residents cited concerns about water, decommissioning, noise, health impacts and compatibility with agricultural land. The board did not set substantive ordinance language at the meeting; it directed staff to draft rules for formal review.
