Commissioner proposes limits on utilities use, aims to protect rural land and farmland
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WOKI / WVLT) – Knox County leaders are working to put rules in place for data centers before any major projects arrive in the community.
County Commissioner Adam Thompson said the effort is designed to avoid problems seen in other parts of the country.
“We were able to see what was happening…they were unprepared for it, and we wanted to try to get ahead of it,” Thompson said.
The proposed regulations would apply to AI processing facilities and cryptocurrency centers. They include restrictions that would prevent those operations from tapping into public water systems or standard electric grids.
Thompson said the goal is to protect both taxpayers and utility systems from heavy demand.
“Our main objective…is to make sure we don’t have an outside entity come in that’s going to do harm…we want to make sure everybody’s taken care of,” he said.
Another concern is land use. Thompson said large-scale data centers would not be allowed in downtown Knoxville and that rural areas—often targeted for development—must be protected.
“Our rural communities are already very sensitive and delicate, so we don’t want to disrupt that at all,” he said.
Local agriculture leaders are also raising concerns. Pamela Stoutt with the Knox County Farm Bureau Women’s Group said data centers could compete with farms for both land and resources.
“We use water, we use electricity, and we’re using that farmland that they’re looking for,” Stoutt said.
The proposal will now go to Knoxville-Knox Planning for review before returning to the Knox County Commission for further consideration.
