Data center restrictions tracker · South Dakota

Data center moratoriums and restrictions in South Dakota (2026)

Data snapshot 2026-08-15 · part of Pricing the Fear of Data Centers

As of August 15, 2026, this tracker documents 3 local government actions on data centers in South Dakota, across 2 jurisdictions in 2 counties: 2 moratoria and 1 zoning exclusion. By status: 1 enacted, 1 in force, and 1 pending.

At the state level, the state has a ratepayer-protection law (enacted).

Data centers in South Dakota used about 0.1 TWh of electricity in 2024; EPRI, Powering Intelligence 2026 (state-level dashboard) projects 0.3 TWh in its 2030, EPRI medium scenario.

Statewide actions in South Dakota

Local actions in South Dakota

Every documented local action in South Dakota in the August 15, 2026 snapshot. Documented actions, not a census.
JurisdictionCountyActionStatusDate
Yankton CountyYankton CountyMoratoriumin forceJuly 21, 2026
Yankton CountyYankton CountyMoratoriumpendingJune 16, 2026
Sioux FallsMinnehaha CountyZoning exclusionenactedDecember 1, 2025

What one campus pays a local government

The parent piece's calculator puts a single large campus at $2M to $90M a year in local revenue, depending on the tax regime and abatements. The reference campus (Project Blue scale: $3.6B of capital, 286 MW) pays about $157M to local governments over 10 years. Permanent jobs run around 50 per facility.

Tax regimeReference caseAnnual local revenue, lowAnnual local revenue, high
Aggressive abatementMorrow County OR (enterprise zone)$2M$3M
Partial abatementGeorgia audit representative campus / El Paso Meta$27.8M$56M
Unabated equipment taxVirginia-style rates (Loudoun is the ceiling)$50M$90M

Run your own numbers in the calculator on the parent piece. Jurisdictions in South Dakota that say no give up this revenue, not the jobs.

Sources

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