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Data centers in King County, Washington: 4 projects mapped
Seattle's City Council voted 9-0 on June 9, 2026, for a one-year moratorium on new data centers over 20 megavolt-amperes, after Seattle City Light said four companies had approached it about five data centers totaling 369 megawatts, about a third of the city's average daily use. One of those, a 20-megawatt data center that Colossus Data Center Advisors proposed for a former Amazon Fresh store inside the Starbucks Center in SoDo, was sized to stay just under the ban's threshold. Sabey Data Centers withdrew a separate 68-megawatt request at its Tukwila campus.
The vote followed a fierce public response. Residents organized by 350 Seattle, Troublemakers and the Seattle chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America sent emails that councilmembers said topped 98,000, citing strain on a power grid Seattle City Light itself said would struggle with that much new load, plus water use during a state drought emergency. "These communities should not be treated as sacrifice zones," Rebecca Young told a council committee, arguing new sites would likely land in South Seattle and Tukwila neighborhoods that already carry industrial pollution.
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The city's roughly 30 existing data centers, including Sabey's 54-megawatt Tukwila campus and Digital Realty's colocation site in the Westin Building downtown, can each expand by up to 20 MVA under the moratorium. Digital Realty also filed plans 11 days before the vote for a data center at a former Bed Bath & Beyond site downtown; whether its earlier paperwork lets that project proceed anyway may end up with permitting officials or the courts.
Seattle City Light's new rate rules for any customer seeking 10 megavolt-amperes or more, adopted in July, apply across its full service area, including Tukwila, Burien, SeaTac and unincorporated King County. The city must hold a public hearing on the moratorium and expects permanent zoning rules in early 2027; a state bill requiring data centers to disclose their environmental impact died without a Senate vote this year.
Data center projects on record in King County
Grouped by the town each site sits in. The report above may name projects that have no record here yet.
Seattle2
| Project | Company | Status | Power | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starbucks Data CenterSeattle | Colossus Data Center Advisors | Proposed | 20 MW | |
| Digital Realty Seattle (Westin Building)Seattle | Digital Realty | Not reported | Source off site ↗ |
Kent1
| Project | Company | Status | Power | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Equinix SE4 (Kent)Kent | Equinix | Not reported |
Tukwila1
| Project | Company | Status | Power | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sabey Intergate.Seattle (East / West)TukwilaExact site not confirmed | Sabey Data Centers | 54 MW |
Where this comes from
The reporting above was written from these. Open one and check it yourself.
Moratoriums and bans in effect
Pauses on new data centers covering this area.
| Place | Type | Started | Ends | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal WayTown or city | Moratorium | Jul 8, 2026 | Jul 8, 2027 | Record off site ↗ |
| BurienTown or city | Moratorium | Jun 30, 2026 | Jun 30, 2027 | Record off site ↗ |
| SeattleTown or city | Moratorium | Jun 9, 2026 | Jun 9, 2027 | 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.