Delaware
Delaware has moved from nascent concern to active policy response in 2026, with county zoning rules, PSC large-load action, and two major bills aimed at keeping data-center costs off other ratepayers.
IARM Domain Signals
Energy/Power: dominant. Delaware’s debate centers on who pays for grid upgrades, how to prevent residential cost shifts, and whether very large loads can be added without stressing PJM/Delmarva. Water/Geology: secondary. The county ordinance directly banned open-loop cooling unless reclaimed water is used, and residents raised water-supply concerns around Delaware City.
IIKey 2026 Races
None identified. I did not find 2026 Delaware federal, state, county, or mayoral races where data centers are a defined campaign issue as of May 2026.
IIIMoratorium · Ban Status
No statewide moratorium or ban has been enacted as of May 2026. The Delaware Public Service Commission opened a large-load tariff docket in September 2025 and, in Delmarva Power territory, paused interconnection of new large-load facilities until that tariff exists, according to a Delaware General Assembly research report and Stateline/WHYY coverage. In January 2026, the Delaware Coalition for Open Government and other groups publicly called for a temporary statewide moratorium on hyperscale data center projects, but I did not find enacted moratorium legislation. New Castle County instead adopted a first-ever hyperscale data center zoning ordinance in March 2026, including 1,000-foot setbacks and a ban on open-loop cooling unless reclaimed water is used, and it is not retroactive to projects already in the pipeline (Delaware legislative research report, WHYY, Route Fifty).
IVRatepayer · Cost-Shift Legislation
HB 233 would require commission-regulated utilities to create a separate tariff for large energy-use facilities of 20 MW or more, with costs allocated to those facilities and safeguards against shifting grid-upgrade costs to residential and small-business customers; it was released in June 2025 and was still part of the 2026 policy landscape. SB 205, also in the Delaware legislature according to the research report, would require any facility using 30 MW or more to obtain a PSC Certificate to Operate and disclose transmission, generation, and ratepayer impacts, but I did not confirm final passage by May 2026. The PSC’s September 2025 large-load tariff docket and the governor/public advocate request that facilities above 25 MW pay their fair share are the clearest active rate-allocation mechanisms (Delaware legislative bill text, Delaware legislative research report, Route Fifty).
VBallot Measures
None identified. I did not find a Delaware 2026 ballot measure tied to data centers, and Ballotpedia’s 2026 ballot-measure roundup does not list Delaware among the states with data-center measures (Ballotpedia).
VITop Contested Sites
1) Project Washington, Delaware City — Starwood Digital Ventures; a proposed 1.2-GW hyperscale project that DNREC said is not permitted under the Coastal Zone Act; status: contested and currently blocked in its present form. 2) Starwood Digital Ventures' Delaware City proposal more broadly — the county and state regulatory fight over the 6-million-square-foot, eleven-building concept drove county zoning changes; status: contested/paused pending redesign or appeal. 3) Proposed hyperscale project near Newark — referenced in WHYY’s county ordinance coverage as outside the new county rules and Coastal Zone Act; status: proposed and not covered by the March 2026 ordinance (WHYY, WHYY, Delaware legislative research report).
VIIActive Opposition Organizations
Delaware Coalition for Open Government; Delaware Sierra Club; New Castle County residents and environmental activists opposing Project Washington; local opponents cited in WHYY coverage around Delaware City and New Castle County; county council critics including Councilman Kevin Caneco and State Sen. Stephanie Hansen appear to be prominent elected voices against the Delaware City project (Delaware legislative research report, WHYY, WHYY).
VIIITalent · Workforce
None identified at the state political-surface layer as of May 2026. Talent and workforce dynamics in Delaware surface primarily at the sub-state and labor-market level — county and municipal proceedings on named projects, regional building trades council positions, and utility commission workforce testimony — which are out of scope for the tracker's state-political-surface read. Request a full RAIL briefing for sub-state and labor-market analysis.
IXData Center Cluster Size
Emerging. Delaware is not a major national hub, but it now has at least one large hyperscale proposal (Project Washington) and a small number of other significant proposals concentrated in New Castle County; the legislative research report cited 1 confirmed proposal and 2 industrial projects that may be hyperscale data centers, with Project Washington sized at 1.2 GW and 6 million square feet (Delaware legislative research report).
XKey Quote
“The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control said the project’s design is not permitted under the state’s Coastal Zone Act” — WHYY on Project Washington, a 1.2-GW Delaware City proposal (WHYY).