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Data centers in New Castle County, Delaware: 4 projects mapped
Delaware's data center fight has been fought almost entirely in New Castle County, and the biggest project in it is, for now, dead. Starwood Digital Ventures' Project Washington would have put about 6 million square feet of data centers on roughly 580 acres north of the Delaware City Refinery, drawing 1.2 gigawatts, as much electricity as nearly a million homes by expert estimates. On February 4, 2026 Environmental Secretary Greg Patterson ruled it was barred by the state's 1971 Coastal Zone Act, pointing to its 516 backup diesel generators and 2.5 million gallons of stored fuel, which he called "entirely unprecedented." The most generators at any facility in the coastal zone until then was eight.
The state's Coastal Zone Industrial Control Board unanimously upheld the ruling in March after about 14 hours of testimony. "They're emission points, and they're emitting enough to constitute themselves, as a collective, as a major source of air pollution," board member Willie Scott said. Starwood's lawyer, Katharine Mowery, said the secretary had "distorted what Project Washington is." Starwood appealed to Superior Court, then quietly withdrew in early July, two days after the General Assembly passed new data center regulations. It says it is still looking for "a pathway forward." "I'm overjoyed," said Dustyn Thompson of Sierra Club Delaware after the board's decision. The building trades unions, the project's loudest supporters, have warned the state will lose jobs.
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The county wrote its own rules in the meantime. On March 10, 2026, after months of fights that at one point featured one councilman giving another the finger, the County Council passed Councilman Dave Carter's ordinance 12-0. Data centers must now sit at least 1,000 feet from homes, or 500 feet with a noise study, use closed-loop cooling and more efficient backup generators, and set aside money to tear the buildings down if they close. "It's a good start," Carter said. As part of the compromise the rules apply only to new applications, not Project Washington or others already in the pipeline.
Two warehouse projects have since shifted towards data centers. One, near the St. Georges Bridge north of Middletown, would replace the Frightland Halloween attraction and grow to 3.2 million square feet; it also sits in the coastal zone. The other would redevelop the White Clay Center office park east of Newark; Councilman Tim Sheldon said its developers recently paused it after he brokered an informal deal with them.
Data center projects on record in New Castle County
Grouped by the town each site sits in. The report above may name projects that have no record here yet.
Delaware City1
| Project | Company | Status | Power | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starwood Digital Ventures · Delaware CityDelaware CityExact site not confirmed | Starwood Digital Ventures | Blocked | 1,200 MW |
Middletown1
| Project | Company | Status | Power | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frightland Data CenterMiddletown | Parkway Gravel Inc. | Proposed | Not reported |
New Castle1
| Project | Company | Status | Power | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Project WashingtonNew Castle | Starwood Digital Ventures | Blocked | 1,200 MW |
Newark1
| Project | Company | Status | Power | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Newark ProjectNewark | Shelbourne | Suspended | Not reported |
Where this comes from
The reporting above was written from these. Open one and check it yourself.
Zoning limits on data centers
Rules short of a pause: setbacks, noise caps, permit requirements and district limits.
| Place | Type | Started | Ends | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Castle County | Zoning limits | Mar 10, 2026 | No end date | Record off site ↗ |
Every project above is drawn from public records, filings and local reporting. Each row links to what it is based on. Statuses change, so check the source date before you rely on one. Found something wrong? Write to [email protected] and it gets fixed.