Data-center law in Florida

Fla. Stat. § 163.326

Effective 2026-05-07 · Applies to government

Confirms that a local government retains its existing authority over comprehensive planning and land development regulation with respect to a large load customer as defined for the utility large load tariff statute, and provides that a large load customer may not be treated as an electric substation for purposes of the comprehensive planning statute governing substation siting. It was created by CS/CS/SB 484 (2026), chapter 2026-65, effective upon becoming law on May 7, 2026.

Source: Full text of law

Fla. Stat. § 366.043

Effective 2026-07-01 · Applies to private

Requires the Florida Public Service Commission to hold public electric utility tariffs to minimum requirements for a large load customer, defined as a customer with an anticipated monthly peak load of 50 megawatts or more at a single location (including colocation arrangements that together meet the threshold), so that each such customer bears its own full cost of service, including connection, incremental transmission and generation, and infrastructure costs, without shifting the risk of nonpayment to other ratepayers.

Bars a customer from splitting one load into smaller connections to avoid the threshold, and bars a public utility from serving a large load customer that is a foreign entity tied to a foreign country of concern. Each public utility must file a compliant tariff for Commission approval no later than October 1, 2026. It was created by CS/CS/SB 484 (2026), chapter 2026-65, effective July 1, 2026.

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Fla. Stat. §§ 373.262, 373.239, 373.203

Effective 2026-07-01 · Applies to both

The governing board of a water management district or the Department of Environmental Protection may not issue a consumptive-use water permit to a large-scale data center, defined as a single location with a data center on site and an anticipated monthly peak load of 50 megawatts or more, unless the applicant establishes that the proposed use is a reasonable-beneficial use, will not interfere with an existing legal use, and is consistent with the public interest; where reclaimed water is available in sufficient capacity and quality, the permitting body must require its use in place of surface or groundwater.

A permit application for at least 100,000 gallons a day must document water sources and a conservation plan, and a large-scale data center's application, or a modification proposed by one, may not be approved without a hearing. Created and amended by CS/CS/SB 484 (2026), chapter 2026-65; the definitions in section 373.203 took effect upon the act becoming law, while the substantive permitting sections took effect July 1, 2026 with the rest of the act.

Source: Full text of law

Fla. Stat. § 212.08(5)(r)

Effective 2017-07-01 · Applies to private

Exempts data center property from Florida sales and use tax where the data center's owners and tenants make a cumulative capital investment of $150 million or more and the data center has a critical IT load of 100 megawatts or higher overall, with at least 1 megawatt dedicated to each individual owner or tenant, both satisfied within 5 years of construction beginning; a temporary certificate issues on application and converts to a permanent one, reviewed every 5 years, once a professional engineer and a Florida certified public accountant certify the load and investment figures.

As originally enacted in 2017, the critical IT load threshold was 15 megawatts; it has since been raised to 100 megawatts.

Source: Full text of law