Frederick County, Maryland just approved a plan to double the land available for data centers while capping total data center use at 1% of county land.
This opens up rural farmland, including areas near the Pennsylvania border, for potential large-scale facilities that will demand significant power and water.
Local opposition focused on energy strain, land use, and lack of transparency, while supporters pointed to what they claim are some of the strictest siting and operational requirements in the country.
Commentators suggest the move may be in response to one or more data center operators already scouting sites, likely for AI and GPU-heavy builds that need cheap land and big power feeds.
The discussion highlights tension between local zoning control and a federal executive order that could override local restrictions in favor of critical AI and data infrastructure.
For anyone tracking where the next wave of GPU-ready capacity might land, this is a useful signal on policy, permitting risk, and grid pressure in the Mid-Atlantic.
Source: Frederick County Council says yes to more data centers – Tri-State Alert
