Every record behind "Does Memphis's Data Center Moratorium Even Matter?"

The data center moratorium, version 3, as the City posted it in August 2026

What it pauses (rezonings, planned developments, special and conditional use permits, site plans, building, grading and land disturbance permits for a new data center), what it exempts (existing data centers that don't expand, vested applications, routine maintenance, computing that's accessory to another use), the study committee and its 17 topics, the six-month progress report, and the 12-month end date the council can extend. The amended version voted on October 6th was not posted when the essay was written.

Ordinance 5982, version 3 (City of Memphis PDF)Action News 5 on the amended version, September 25Tennessee Tribune, September 26

Councilman Jeff Warren's data center rules, version 1, September 2, 2026

Closed-loop cooling for new data centers, no evaporative cooling towers, no city drinking water and no new wells for routine cooling, gas turbines barred as a main power source, annual water reports and a public register for every data center. The text never defines a "Major Water Withdrawal" and sets no noise limit or setback from homes.

Ordinance 5986, version 1 (City of Memphis PDF)

Planning and Zoning Committee, September 1st, 2026, the council's own stream

MLGW President and CEO Doug McGowen on the data centers waiting on power - the next two at 350 megawatts, the ten speculative requests, "in the next six months, there is no data center that will just pop up anywhere," and xAI's second 150 megawatts at Colossus 1 - from about 5:29:30. Council attorney Allan Wade on what the council controls at 5:54:03.

McGowen, from 5:29:30Wade, at 5:54:03The whole meeting

MLGW and CTC Property LLC, Agreement for Electric Service for 142,000 kW, March 2025

Ten years. Paragraph 7 of the terms on page 3: if MLGW cancels for an uncured breach, or the customer abandons the facility, the customer owes $20.3 million a year, or $1,691,666.67 a month, for the rest of the term. Produced by MLGW on records request PRR-2026-1003 on September 21, 2026, and hosted exactly as MLGW redacted it.

Agreement (PDF, 9 pages)

MLGW and CTC Property LLC, Agreement for Water Service, June 10, 2024

Water "to be used for data center cooling" at 3231 Paul R. Lowry Road. Paragraph 6 on page 4 caps monthly use at 5,213,550 cubic feet without MLGW's written consent - about 1.28 million gallons a day. MLGW's president told the council on September 1st that use was about 820,000 gallons a day. MLGW pumps roughly 140 to 150 million gallons a day across its wellfields. Produced by MLGW on PRR-2026-1003 and hosted as MLGW redacted it.

Agreement (PDF, 4 pages)Protect Our Aquifer on MLGW's wellfields

The data center rate class and the Capacity Commitment Charge, and a new directly served customer over 100 MW

The $1.521 million per megawatt charge above the first 5 megawatts, the end of factory rates for data centers by October 2027, and a separate approval for an unnamed customer TVA will serve directly from as early as November 2026. Both are hosted on the MLGW essay's records page as TVA published them.

Rate change resolution and memo (TVA PDF)Both resolutions, on the MLGW records pageDaily Memphian, August 20: SpaceXAI asks TVA for direct powerFox13, August 20: the board gave the go-ahead

xAI's sworn statements of June 2026 and Mississippi's agreed order of July 30, 2026

xAI employees' declarations that the Tulane Road and Stateline Road data centers run on the Southaven turbines alone, and the order that gives each temporary turbine a date to stop running, the last in July 2027. Both are on the records page for the essay on the 69 turbines.

The state-line records pageThe essay on the 69 turbines

The county's August 16, 2024 letter asking EPA to put its turbine rule in writing, and EPA's November 1, 2024 answer

Hosted on the records page for the essay on the county and EPA.

The county-and-EPA records page

EDGE's board approves a lease to CTC Property LLC in Pidgeon Industrial Park

EDGE's meeting notice describes "approximately 522 acres"; its announcement of the vote says 552. Twenty-one years with two 10-year options, rent-free the first year, then $1.65 million a year rising 2.5% a year, with an option to buy after 22 years for $23.64 million. Neither page says which parcels the lease covers.

EDGE's announcementEDGE's meeting noticeCommercial Appeal, October 1, 2026

xAI's February 4, 2025 presentation to the council, and MLGW's president on June 23, 2026

The 9% estimate is xAI's, and it counts the water xAI itself would have used. TVA's letter of intent to buy the water is as xAI described it to the council. McGowen dated the plant's start to 2018.

Council committee, February 4, 2025Council committee, June 23, 2026

What the reporters added

WREG, October 5: Councilman WarrenWREG, October 5: Mayor YoungANS: the Ratepayer Protection PledgeData Center Frontier on Colossus's liquid cooling