Idaho
Idaho took its first concrete data-center legislative step in 2026 by enacting HB 895, requiring new data centers to use non-consumptive water or existing water access, while a tax-accountability bill (HB 897) failed and Idaho Power opened a cost-of-service docket for large loads amid Meta's Kuna buildout (Boise Chamber, Idaho Statesman/YouTube, Idaho Stack).
ILens Signals
Civic/Governance Barriers activates on moratorium-class action (C1) — governance instruments on the electoral, legislative, and regulatory surface (protocol §10; Overview Civic breakout). Capital Flows/Insurability is a genuine secondary stressor: Idaho Power's 2025 rate case raised residential rates ~9.74% while the state is still deciding how to assign future large-load costs, and the failed HB 897 plus the new cost-of-service docket center on preventing cost shifts and stranded assets (Idaho Stack, EastIdahoNews). Water/Geology (HB 895) and Energy/Power (large-load growth 257->875 aMW by 2030) also central.
IIKey 2026 Races
None identified. Ballotpedia's Idaho gubernatorial and U.S. House 2026 pages and recent reporting did not surface a candidate race centered on data centers (Boise Chamber).
IIIMoratorium · Ban Status
No statewide moratorium. (Note: Kootenai County's 182-day emergency permit moratorium dates to early 2025 and has since moved toward permanent zoning/ban work; not a new 2026 statewide action) (Data Center Watch, Spokane Public Radio).
IVRatepayer · Cost-Shift Legislation
HB 895 enacted — requires new data centers to be designed for non-consumptive water use or to access water through an existing user/utility (Boise Chamber, Idaho Statesman/YouTube). HB 897 (a.k.a. H0609/H0820 versions) — would have narrowed sales-tax exemption to servers, added a 2036 sunset, blocked stacking property-tax exemptions, and required full utility cost recovery — did NOT pass (Boise Chamber, Tally Idaho H0609,). Idaho Power opened a PUC docket March 31, 2026 to evaluate class cost-of-service for new large loads, and the PUC approved a Micron special contract May 8, 2026 tracking incremental large-load costs (Idaho Stack).
VBallot Measures
None identified. Ballotpedia's 2026 data-center ballot-measure tracker lists CA, MI, NV, and WI, not Idaho (Ballotpedia).
VITop Contested Sites
Meta Kuna ($800M, 960,000 sq ft, 485 ac; 100% renewable via Idaho Power clean-energy tariff; ~200 MW added) — completion slipped to end of 2026 due to an AI redesign (Construction Review, Epoch AI). A 620-acre Diode Ventures campus was approved in Kuna and still qualifies for Idaho's tax relief (National Today).
VIITalent · Workforce
Meta Kuna projects ~100 operational jobs vs. 1,200+ peak construction jobs — a jobs-promised-vs-delivered dimension, though secondary to the water/rate debate (Idaho Stack).
VIIIData Center Cluster Size
Emerging — clustered around Boise metro/Kuna/Nampa (Meta, T5, ARC, Valor C3) plus Micron; Idaho Power tracks Meta/Micron as 'additional firm load' (Idaho Statesman/YouTube, Idaho Stack).
IXKey Quote
"The goal of that legislation is to ensure that those costs aren't shifted to existing ratepayers," a legislator said of the 2026 cost-shift framework (Idaho Statesman/YouTube).