Dickerson Data Centers, Dickerson, Maryland

Atmosphere Data Centers wants to build five data centers totaling 360 megawatts of power on the old Dickerson power plant site in Montgomery County, Maryland. The Montgomery County Council voted on July 28, 2026 to replace County Executive Marc Elrich's six-month executive moratorium with an 18-month ban on data center permits, running through January 2028. The council also passed a zoning measure that, for now, bars hyperscale data centers in the county, and Atmosphere is separately appealing how the county handled its permit applications.

The Montgomery Countryside Alliance says the full build could use up to two million gallons of water a day from the Potomac River, with backup diesel generators of about 1.2 gigawatts. Council President Natali Fani-Gonzalez said the pause would let the council "deliberate on appropriate guardrails for large data centers in the County." Councilmember Evan Glass said the moratorium was needed to "protect the Potomac River, prevent an exorbitant rise in electric bills, and chart a more sustainable path forward."

Atmosphere argues the county "impermissibly [changed] its mind" on zoning that had allowed its plans to move forward, and its stormwater and fire access plans remain unprocessed at the county's Department of Permitting Services. As of late July 2026, no ruling date had been set for that appeal. The new 18-month moratorium runs to January 28, 2028, giving the council time to write a full data center policy before the project can move forward.