Thursday, 16 July 2026

A 7-megawatt Krambu data center planned for Bonner, Montana, has stalled after the property owner pulled his name from a required land-use filing, according to Inside Climate News.

Mike Heisey, who manages the Bonner Mill Industrial Park, said public concerns drove his decision to strip his signature from the Krambu special exception application. "Bonner Property will not be moving forward with the data center proposed by them," Heisey said in a statement provided by Missoula County, per Inside Climate News.

Krambu had proposed the roughly 7-megawatt facility at the Bonner Mill Industrial Park, Inside Climate News reported. Opposition built earlier in the month when more than 100 residents packed a community meeting in Bonner to object to the plan.

Missoula County's zoning rules trace back to cryptocurrency mining, according to Inside Climate News. Officials wrote the regulations after a crypto mine ran at the Bonner Industrial Park from 2017 to 2020, targeting electricity use and electronic waste.

The county holds a distinct position under those rules. Missoula County is the only county in Montana with regulations shielding residents from air and water pollution as well as noise and vibrations, said Anne Hedges of the Montana Environmental Information Center, per Inside Climate News.

Any interim zoning ordinance the county adopts could stand for up to one year under Montana law, with a possible one-year extension, Inside Climate News reported.

A Canada-based consortium is advancing plans for a major natural gas-fired power plant in Alberta, according to Power Magazine.

The Greenlight Electricity Centre is a proposed USD 3.2 billion, 932-MW gas-fired combined cycle power generation facility, Power Magazine reported. The consortium is moving forward with the project.

The facility will serve a major data center development, according to Power Magazine.

Prince George's County approved a two-year halt on new data center development on Tuesday, which Inside Climate News reported is the longest such pause in Maryland.

County officials framed the stop as protection for residents while the County Council writes rules covering where the server farms can be built, how they are sited, and how they are constructed, according to Inside Climate News.

The county acts after Montgomery, Frederick and Baltimore County each paused data center development in recent weeks, Inside Climate News reported.

Council chair Krystal Oriadha, who sponsored the resolution, said she backs a full ban but settled on the two-year window because the council was split. "The two-year moratorium was what the council could agree on," she said, according to Inside Climate News.

Maryland's People's Counsel David Lapp said each delay gives regulators more room to close gaps that leave ordinary households exposed to data center cost impacts, Inside Climate News reported.

Maryland has ordered a study of how the industry affects air, water, the Chesapeake Bay and the power grid, with results due Sept. 1, according to Inside Climate News.

State Sen. Katie Fry Hester said lawmakers set up a state data center registry, which she called the first in the country, listing energy and water use. It takes effect in January 2027, Inside Climate News reported.