Sioux Falls Council Formed Data Center Study Committee
The group will evaluate regulatory authority amid concerns over high energy demand from local development proposals.
Updated on Oct. 13, 2026 in Data Centers
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The Sioux Falls City Council has established a Regulatory Oversight Committee to assess potential data center policies. The committee aims to address the energy requirements of new developments, including the 500-megawatt request from the proposed Gemini Data Center.
Why it matters
The committee seeks to reconcile existing industrial zoning with the significant power load these facilities place on local infrastructure. This effort will determine whether current city ordinances can effectively govern energy-intensive computing sites.
The proposed Gemini Data Center requires 500 megawatts of power, exceeding the 400-megawatt total capacity of the local Angus Anson Power Plant. The committee is now evaluating the regulatory mechanisms needed to manage this scale of energy consumption.
The players
Sara Pankonin
Councilor serving on the Regulatory Oversight Committee.
James Oppenheimer
Councilor serving on the Regulatory Oversight Committee.
Ryan Spellerberg
Councilor serving on the Regulatory Oversight Committee.
Rich Merkouris
Councilor serving on the Regulatory Oversight Committee.
The details
The Regulatory Oversight Committee reviews current local, state, and federal rules to determine if they can secure majority support for new ordinances. The city attorney is currently drafting a legal opinion regarding the enforceability of new regulations on properties already zoned for light industrial use. The process involves vetting ordinance ideas submitted by the public to assess their feasibility within existing city legal frameworks.
Timeline
January 2026: Gemini Data Center site was zoned for light industrial use.
November 9, 2026: Committee holds first public meeting.
November 30, 2026: Committee holds second public meeting.
January 4, 2027: Committee holds third public meeting.
January 12, 2027: Committee submits report or recommendations to City Council.
The Tech Race
The proposed Gemini Data Center's energy demand exceeds the referenced Angus Anson Power Plant capacity, triggering the city's need for new regulatory oversight. This study marks a growing trend where municipalities must reconcile the high energy requirements of data center infrastructure with local utility limits.
Residents can influence future local land use policy by participating in scheduled public workshops at Carnegie Town Hall. These meetings will determine how the city manages large-scale industrial infrastructure and its associated burden on the regional power grid.
The takeaway
The city's regulatory path hinges on the attorney's forthcoming legal opinion regarding existing zoning rights. Watch for the committee's January 12, 2027, report for the first formal determination on how Sioux Falls will handle high-capacity data center energy requests.
What happens next
The committee will hold public meetings on November 9, 2026, November 30, 2026, and January 4, 2027, before submitting a report on January 12, 2027.
Further reading
Learn more about local infrastructure and regulatory shifts at the Data Centers section.
More information
Residents can submit data center ordinance ideas through the official city portal.
Source note: This article includes information reported by KELO-LAND TV.
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