Show HN: We mapped data center regulations across 50 states and 1,462 localities

Hi HN! My company Regbase tracks regulatory developments around the world for compliance teams at major corporations. Ahead of the midterm elections we decided to do an in-depth survey of all state and local regulations around data centers.

We built an interactive map showing the data center policies across the United States. It covers all 50 states and 1,462 localities across legislation, regulations and executive orders. We collected and analyzed the data using our platform. Every result has a link to the official source so you can read the policy for yourself.

Here's some interesting things we learned:

- Moratoriums (temporary bans) are the most common instrument. We counted 1,010 in total with an average duration of 10 months.

- Starting around October 2025, most policies switched from tax incentives to bans and restrictions. This correlates with increased energy prices and worsening public sentiment towards AI.

- When construction is allowed, it's very common for protections to be put in place particularly around electricity and less for water. Many of the bans are actually refusals to issue these licenses.

We would love your feedback! In particular please let us know if there is any other data that would be useful or interesting to see.