Knox County, TN, in Knox County, Tennessee, adopted a data-center zoning exclusion on June 22, 2026. Its status in this snapshot is pending.
The record reads: "Knox County drafted regulation ordinance capping height at 65 ft, 300-ft residential setbacks, noise limits (67/57 dBA), prohibiting connection to public electric/water, requires closed-loop energy (solar/wind/nuclear), and mandates 'art… (datacentertracker.org)."
Details
| Action | Class | Status | Date | MW threshold | Scope | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoning exclusion | restriction | pending | June 22, 2026 | county-wide | datacentertracker.org |
Jurisdiction type: municipality. County: Knox County. Dataset: datacentertracker. Snapshot August 15, 2026; documented actions, not a census.
Elsewhere in Knox County
Tennessee context
Tennessee has 41 documented local actions across 36 jurisdictions in this snapshot. At the state level, the state has a ratepayer-protection law (enacted).
A town that says no to a data center gives up local tax revenue, not jobs: one large campus pays $2M to $90M a year depending on the tax regime, against roughly 50 permanent jobs. The parent piece prices it and lists the conditions that beat a ban.