Only Two Zones, 97 Percent of the Map
A proposed Fairbanks ordinance says today's code permits a large data center in only two zones. Neither is industrial.
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The story
Heavy Industrial is 3,555 mapped acres. Light Industrial is 5,929.
The two zones it names are General Use districts GU-1 and GU-5. That is about 97 percent of the zoned acres. The code names no data center use.
The draft would pause large data center permits through December 31st, 2027. Its first test is 5 MW of peak demand. GVEA's first alert came October 12th and reached Level 2. Level 2 means reserves below 15 MW. Two units were in maintenance, a third went offline.
Argue the 5 MW now. The agenda gives the Planning Commission 90 days to recommend.
The zoning map by acre, the industrial sliver, the floor test drawn to scale and 5 MW against GVEA's alert lines.
If you pay a GVEA bill, how many megawatts is large?
What we verified
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Fairbanks North Star Borough Ordinance No. 2026-42 is titled An Ordinance Establishing A Temporary Moratorium On Land Use Permits For Large Scale Data Centers.
Borough Mayor Grier Hopkins is the sponsor of Ordinance No. 2026-42.
Ordinance No. 2026-42 was item 17.a on the October 22nd Regular Assembly Meeting agenda, under ordinances to be referred to committees or commissions.
The agenda directs Ordinance No. 2026-42 to the Planning Commission with a recommendation due back in 90 days.
Under Ordinance No. 2026-42 a facility counts as a large-scale data center if it has an aggregate peak electrical demand of 5 MW or greater.
Under Ordinance No. 2026-42 a facility also counts as a large-scale data center if it occupies more than 50,000 square feet of floor area devoted to data center operations.
Under Ordinance No. 2026-42 a facility also counts as a large-scale data center if it includes onsite electrical generation of 5 MW or greater.
While the moratorium is in effect no land use permit applications for a large-scale data center would be accepted and no pending applications approved.
The moratorium would run through December 31st, 2027 unless the Assembly ends it sooner or extends it by ordinance.
The planning director's memo says the moratorium would last through the end of 2027 so the borough can update and adopt its new Comprehensive Plan.
The ordinance directs the Department of Community Planning to report its findings and recommendations to the Planning Commission within six months of the effective date.
The required study covers impacts on energy usage, air quality, water usage and water quality, and noise pollution.
Ordinance No. 2026-42 would take effect at 5 p.m. on the first Borough business day after its adoption.
Ordinance No. 2026-42 is classified as temporary and would not be codified.
The ordinance says the borough's Regional Comprehensive Plan was last updated in 2005, before growing demand from artificial intelligence created a need for physical infrastructure.
The ordinance says the borough zoning code does not address data centers as a permitted or conditional use.
The ordinance says the Comprehensive Plan update is still in progress and expected to be finalized in early 2027.
Under the present zoning ordinance large-scale data centers would be permitted only in the GU-1 and GU-5 General Use Districts.
The ordinance says the General Use Districts allow the widest range of land uses of any zoning district in the borough.
The ordinance says large data centers could consume a significant share of available electrical power in the borough.
The ordinance names noise from cooling and power equipment as a possible impact of large data centers.
The ordinance names degraded air quality from onsite power generation emissions as a possible impact of large data centers.
The ordinance says a temporary pause lets the borough assess power demand, water consumption, noise and land-use compatibility before development proceeds.
The cover memo for Ordinance No. 2026-42 is from Kellen Spillman, Director of the Community Planning Department, and is dated October 22nd.
The memo says a more in-depth staff report will be available for the Planning Commission and at introduction.
Item 9.a on the October 22nd agenda was the Borough Clerk's memorandum on certifying the October 6th Regular Municipal Election.
On August 27th the Assembly adopted Resolution No. 2026-25, its legislative priorities resolution, by a vote of 6-1.
Residents testifying on Resolution 2026-25 spoke in support of its legislative priority for a moratorium on data center development in Alaska.
Assemblymember Brett Rotermund cast the only no vote on Resolution 2026-25.
The borough's Comprehensive Plan Update page schedules a Planning Commission work session on the final plan for October 27th, followed by a public hearing in November.
EPA lists the Fairbanks, AK area as nonattainment for the 2006 PM2.5 standard with a Serious classification.
Golden Valley Electric Association issued its first Energy Emergency Alert on October 12th.
GVEA's October 12th alert was a Level 2 alert.
GVEA's Level 1 Energy Advisory means available generation reserves are below 38 MW.
GVEA's Level 2 Energy Watch means available generation reserves are below 15 MW.
At GVEA's Level 3 Energy Warning the controlled load shed program begins because generation reserves are unavailable.
GVEA said two of its generating units were offline for planned maintenance when a third went offline unexpectedly.
On October 21st the USGS released an assessment estimating 96 trillion cubic feet of technically recoverable undiscovered natural gas on Alaska's North Slope.
Interior says the 96 trillion cubic feet estimate is nearly three times the roughly 35 trillion cubic feet of proven North Slope gas reserves.
The borough's zoning map layer shows General Use-1 (GU-1) districts covering 4,420,232 acres.
The borough's zoning map layer shows General Use-5 (GU-5) districts covering 197,540 acres.
All zoning districts on the borough's zoning map layer total 4,763,599 acres.
GU-1 and GU-5 together cover 4,617,772 of the 4,763,599 acres on the borough's zoning map, about 97 percent.
Every district other than GU-1 and GU-5 together covers 145,827 acres on the borough's zoning map, about 3 percent.
Heavy Industrial (HI) districts cover 3,555 acres on the borough's zoning map.
Light Industrial (LI) districts cover 5,929 acres on the borough's zoning map.
Mayor Hopkins told Alaska's News Source that residents asked for a moratorium during the legislative priorities hearings.
Assembly member Tammie Wilson told Alaska's News Source she was glad the borough was being proactive instead of reactive.
A GVEA spokesperson said a Level 3 load shed would rotate through zones in outages of 30 to 60 minutes.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum spoke at a Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce event on October 14th.
Burgum said people were knocking on the door wanting to drop 10 billion on a data center without tax breaks.
Alaska Public Media reports that Alaska has seen proposals for as many as 15 data centers, including on military land.
In July state officials received more than 500 public comments on a proposed North Slope data center and power plant.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins said of data centers that he thinks Alaska should pause.
In a commentary Gwen Holdmann wrote that the Alaska Intertie carried roughly 540,000 megawatt-hours in 2014.
Holdmann wrote that the 2014 intertie flow equaled more than 40% of GVEA's annual electricity sales.
Holdmann wrote that economy-power purchases over the intertie have fallen to essentially zero since early 2025.
Holdmann wrote that in 2014 the older diesel-fired turbines at North Pole supplied only about 3% of GVEA's electricity.
Holdmann wrote that by 2025 those diesel turbines were supplying 15% of GVEA's electricity.
Holdmann wrote that residential electricity rates climbed above 37 cents per kilowatt-hour this past summer.
Taiwan's Economic Affairs Ministry said it would invest up to $4.4 billion in the Alaska LNG pipeline project.
Taiwan is preparing to buy as much as 30% of the Alaska LNG pipeline's production.
Taiwan plans to buy 6.6 million U.S. tons of liquefied natural gas a year from the Alaska project once extraction starts.
Taiwan's ministry said Alaska gas would start supplying the island in 2032 at the earliest if the project stays on schedule.
The Alaska LNG project centers on an 807-mile pipeline from the North Slope to an export terminal.
President Trump said the Alaska LNG pipeline is now a U.S. Federal Government Project.
Official estimates put the Alaska LNG project's cost at $44.5 billion to $54.5 billion.
The private developer Glenfarne owns seventy-five percent of the Alaska LNG pipeline project.
Trump has touted a $54 billion South Korean investment in the Alaska pipeline, while South Korean officials have been more cautious.
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