The amended code, approved in a 5-1 vote, will remove power generation as a permitted use, capping data center sizes at 50 megawatts because UMPA requires data centers over 50 megawatts to generate their own power on site, according to Provo Planning and Sustainability Coordinator Hannah Salzl.

“Simply by limiting it to 50 (megawatts) we are going to probably alleviate a lot of the issues that we might see with other bigger data centers,” Councilman Travis Hoban said during a work session. “The hum will be less because it’s not as big, and there won’t be as many backup generators.”

Amendments were also approved to require data centers to utilize nonevaporative cooling measures and prohibit data centers from discharging water into municipal wastewater systems. A requirement for third-party environmental analysis for data centers over 5 megawatts was also removed, because the city deemed it unnecessary if the main sources of air pollutants and water use are prohibited.

Councilwoman Becky Bogdin, the dissenting voter, questioned why additional code cleanup was necessary if data center approval ultimately falls to the Council’s discretion. Salzl said the new code signals to developers what proposals the Council will consider.

“If we are really hesitant about power generation on site, for example, then let’s be upfront that that might be a nonstarter,” Salzl said.

The decision comes a month after the Council said no to approving a rezone for a closed-loop data center in the East Bay neighborhood, which would have started at 5 megawatts with the potential of upscaling. The Council said it needed to complete its economic master plan prior to making a long-term land-use decision.

A number of small scale data centers already exist in Provo, including some at Brigham Young University. The Council’s policy change ensures future data centers remain at a small scale compared to other facilities in the state.

Most recently, a 40,000-acre, 9 gigawatt AI data center was reportedly approved in Box Elder County.

“Data centers in Utah have been in the news more lately as we’re getting that 9 gigawatt facility up north, which, for context, would be 9,000 megawatts,” Salzl said. “As we’re looking at limiting to 50.”