How many data centers are in Rhode Island?

Rhode Island has approximately 8 tracked data center facilities consuming an estimated 0.2 TWh of electricity per year. Counts vary by directory because each draws the boundary differently — cite the TWh figure rather than the facility count when possible.

Are there data center moratoriums in Rhode Island?

Yes. Rhode Island has 3 tracked moratoriums or community actions on file. See the full list on this page or the moratorium tracker for nationwide data.

How much does electricity cost in Rhode Island?

The average residential rate in Rhode Island is 0.3¢/kWh. Large data center loads can affect rates through capacity market charges and transmission upgrades — see the electric bill explainer for the mechanism.

State briefing

Rhode Island: data centers & your electric bill

As of October 1, 2026, AI GridWatch tracks 3 data center moratoriums or pushback actions in Rhode Island: 3 in force. The state has 8 tracked data center facilities using an estimated 0.2 TWh of electricity a year.

Everything GridWatch tracks in Rhode Island on one page — proposed projects, moratoriums, permits, officials, and the 2026 ballot.

Subscribe by RSS — moratorium changes and community headlines for Rhode Island.

8tracked data center facilities

0.2 TWhestimated annual DC electricity

29.5¢residential rate per kWh

280grid gCO₂/kWh · water stress: low

As of July 2026 (3m ago) · changes over months · Source: U.S. Data Center Power Map by State — ElectricChoice.com compilation (updated July 2026; CC-BY 4.0). Underlying load research: LBNL 2024 US Data Center Energy Usage Report; rates: EIA

Facility counts vary by directory because each one draws the boundary differently — DataCenterMap lists 44 in Alabama where this table says 35, since it counts small network rooms alongside hyperscale campuses. Cite the TWh figure rather than the facility count when you can; it is the number that speaks to grid impact. Underlying load research is LBNL-2001637 (Dec 2024).

Happening now

1Proposed data centers in Rhode Island

GridWatch is not yet tracking a named project in Rhode Island. That is a gap in our coverage, not evidence that nothing is proposed — most projects surface first in a zoning agenda, weeks before any reporting.

Tell us about a project →

2Pushback already happening in Rhode Island

Where	Level	Status	Note	Source
Smithfield	Local	Enactedno end date — permanent	Adopted 4-1 May 5, effective Jun 4; data centers not permitted in any zoning district	SourceNews read 2026-08-04
Charlestown	Town	Enactedno end date — permanent	Adopted unanimously (5-0); data centers and battery energy storage systems not permitted in any zoning district. Second RI town to ban data centers after Smithfield. No active proposals at time of vote; preemptive action citing Quonset and Smithfield controversies. Planning Commission unanimously endorsed in July.	SourceNews read 2026-09-12
Westerly	Town	Enactedexpires 2027-07-27	Adopted 7-0; one-year moratorium on development or construction of data centers. Allows Planning and Zoning Commission time to draft comprehensive zoning rules. Town ordinances were previously silent on data centers. No pending applications at time of vote.	SourceNews read 2026-09-12

As of August 2026 (2m ago) · changes weekly — re-check before citing

Illustrative rather than exhaustive — dozens of localities churn weekly, and this tracks the ones we have read a source for. **Each row carries its own provenance.** Rows showing a verification date link to the ordinance, the enacting body's own page, or a datable report of the vote, and were read on that date. Rows marked *unverified* came from bulk compilation and have not been checked against a primary source — the locality, the year, and the status may all be off. Verify one of those with the town clerk before citing it as precedent. **Expiry is derived, not asserted.** A row with a documented end date flips to *Expired* on its own once that date passes. A time-limited moratorium whose start date was never documented keeps showing as enacted — that is a known gap, not a claim that it is still in force. Moratoriums are also routinely extended, so an expiry date is the earliest it could have ended, not proof that it did.

Already built

3Every data center already built in Rhode Island

GridWatch does not yet track a named hyperscale campus in Rhode Island, but that does not mean the state has none. DataCenterMap keeps a public directory of existing facilities — street addresses included — for Rhode Island.

Browse the Rhode Island directory →

Two caveats before you cite it at a hearing: it lists facilities that already exist, so a newly proposed campus will not appear; and it counts a small network room the same as a hyperscale campus, so the facility count is not a measure of power draw or community impact.

Your leverage

4Your regulator

Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission — website · file a complaint

Official state energy data: EIA Rhode Island electricity profile — generation, prices, and consumption from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

5Where the Rhode Island paper trail lives

Air & environmental permits: Rhode Island DEM — Office of Air Resources

No searchable register. Rhode Island does not publish a permit database you can query. A public-records request to the agency is the only route to the file.

Grid interconnection queue: ISO New England

A routing hint only — several states are split between markets, and the serving utility is the only authority on which queue a given site is in.

These are places to look, not evidence that anything has been filed. Links were checked on 2026-08-21; search links are queries, not records.

What to request, and in what order →

Who represents you

6Your federal delegation and governor

Grades cross party — this is an issue axis, not a partisan one. A blank grade means no documented action was located, never that the official is neutral.

Grade	Official	Documented action (sourced)	Reach them
—	Dan McKee Democratic · Governor	No documented action on data centers located	site · contact
B	Jack Reed Democratic · Senator · on the 2026 ballot	Co-led the New England senators' letter asking ISO New England how it will shield residential ratepayers from data-center-driven price increases. — Sens. Reed & Whitehouse seek answers on how regional data centers could drive up costs (2026) Guardrails Co-led a New England senators' letter asking ISO New England how it will shield residential ratepayers from data-center-driven price increases. sources	site · contact
A	Sheldon Whitehouse Democratic · Senator · next on the ballot 2030	Co-led the New England senators' letter to ISO New England on data-center-driven rate increases; earlier urged the White House not to fast-track data centers past clean-air, water and cost protections. — Sens. Reed & Whitehouse seek answers on how regional data centers could drive up costs (2026) Guardrails Co-led the January 2026 ISO New England letter on data-center-driven rate increases and in December 2024 urged the White House not to fast-track data-center buildout at the expense of clean-air, clean-water and household-cost protections. sources	site · contact
—	Gabe Amo Democratic · Representative 1	No documented action on data centers located	site · contact
—	Seth Magaziner Democratic · Representative 2	No documented action on data centers located	site · contact

Roster: regenerated by scripts/refresh_officials.py (Senate XML + congress-legislators + current governors).

Write to your senators → Your senators in detail → Full officials scorecard → Find your state legislators →

72026 U.S. Senate race

PVI D+8 · Seat held by Jack Reed (Democratic) · Incumbent running

Connor Burbridge (Democratic) No record found