Keith Steck of Milton is the president of the Delaware Coalition for Open Government.
As the Delaware General Assembly begins taking up the people’s business in 2026, the Delaware Coalition for Open Government calls on the legislature and the governor to implement a statewide moratorium on mega data centers. We hope and expect this action will provide sufficient time for a thorough public discussion of the various issues surrounding these proposed facilities and the development of controls that allow them to operate safely, while protecting the state’s residents, workers, wildlife and economic well-being.
DelCOG members are not against such facilities but have concerns based on what has happened and is going on elsewhere. We believe that there hasn’t been enough public discussion here in Delaware about these extraordinarily large and energy-consuming facilities, their positive and negative impacts, and what controls need to be put in place to ensure that they operate safely. Part of this is because of a lack of information provided to the public; there also haven’t been many public discussions about them.
Postings on social media don’t constitute a public discussion nor do they present objective, unbiased information. They certainly don’t, for example, address serious concerns about adequate electricity supplies, possible brownouts or a massive transfer of wealth in the form of substantial residential electricity bills to cover the tremendous costs of the electrical infrastructure these facilities would bear.
A moratorium, we believe, will provide time and breathing room for information to be obtained, discussed, shared and analyzed, and will provide a much clearer path forward. We further believe that a moratorium is necessary in the absence of any controls specific to this type of facility and its statewide implications on electricity demand, infrastructure and bills. We also believe that controls, like the moratorium, should be statewide, so no Delaware county or municipality has an advantage over another.
In the interest of public disclosure of information and the need for public discussion, DelCOG is also sharing information with members of the General Assembly and the governor to stimulate a serious public discussion about mega data centers, concerns about them and the development of reasonable, effective controls.
During the ensuing debate about even having a moratorium, we fully expect the media to facilitate the discussions by obtaining important information about data center proposals here and elsewhere, then reporting on how governments in other states have reviewed proposals and what actions they have taken, including what controls they have put in place. The media will, in fact, play a crucial role in helping the public know about and understand this complex situation.
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
