Graded Light and steady. 4 laws, orders, rulings and local actions, each with its source, reviewed 23 October 2026.
No large-load rule is in force; H.727's 10-year PUC-reviewed contract requirement was vetoed May 28, 2026 and the override failed.
No tariff or cost rule exists; H.727 was vetoed May 28, 2026.
Royalton's five-year moratorium, approved March 3, 2026, is advisory until written into the town plan and the town has no data centers.
No data center incentive was found and no action taken, so this scores 3: nothing to lose, nothing to gain.
No water, air or disclosure rule exists.
Scored on rules in force, 1 to 5. 5 is the most regulated. Pending rules set the arrow.
Vermont has no large data centers and no data center incentive that was found. H.727 would have put any data center of 20 MW or more through full Act 250 land use review, required a 10-year utility contract reviewed by the Public Utility Commission, and required payments to cut energy costs for nearby residents. Governor Scott vetoed it on May 28, 2026 and the House override vote on May 29 fell short at 83 to 52, so the bill died with the biennium.
Supporters are expected to bring the bill back in the 2027 session, but no pre-filed bill was confirmed, and S.205, the temporary moratorium on AI data centers above 100 MW, also died in Senate Finance without a vote. The outcome depends on the November 3, 2026 elections for governor and the Legislature. Royalton's five-year moratorium on AI and crypto data centers, approved by town meeting on March 3, 2026, remains advisory until the Planning Commission writes it into the town plan and the Selectboard approves.
No. As of 23 October 2026 no statewide or local moratorium on data centers is in force in Vermont. Proposals and expired pauses are not counted.
Steady. Vermont is graded Light, which means incentives in place and few new obligations. Governor vetoed 20 MW data center rules; override failed. The outlook above says what is pending.
Vermont sits in ISO-NE. The grid operator decides how a new large load is studied, what it must bring or pay, and whether it can be curtailed first; the state decides siting, permits, tariffs and incentives.
No. Vermont's data center incentives were not pulled back in 2025 or 2026 as of 23 October 2026.
On Genloop's five-line rubric (1 least regulated, 5 most) Vermont scores grid connection 1, power rates 1, siting and land use 2, tax treatment 3, permits and water 1, a mean of 1.6. The most regulated line is tax treatment: No data center incentive was found and no action taken, so this scores 3: nothing to lose, nothing to gain.
4 items: each is a law, order, tariff, ruling, utility action or local decision that changes what a data center must do, pay or disclose, or where it may be built. Failed and pending measures are marked. Each links to its source.
The House voted 83 to 52 on May 29, 2026 to override, short of two thirds, with all Republicans opposed. The governor's stated concern was the broader message the bill would send. The bill required Act 250 review, a 10-year utility contract and community energy payments for data centers of 20 MW or more.
Source: vermontbiz.comVetoed May 28, 2026 after passing the Senate 26 to 3 and the House on a near-unanimous voice vote. Environmental groups said it would have kept data center costs off residents' bills and protected water supplies.
Source: vnrc.orgIntroduced by Sen. Rebecca White and referred to Senate Finance on 6 January 2026, the bill would have paused construction of AI data centers (defined as more than 100 MW of new load) while the Public Utility Commission investigated. The committee took testimony but never voted, and the bill died when the biennium ended on 29 May 2026.
Source: legislature.vermont.govOn 3 March 2026 Royalton voters approved by show of hands a five-year moratorium on AI and crypto data centers. The vote directs the Planning Commission to write the policy into the town plan, which then needs Selectboard approval; the town has no data centers and none proposed, and the measure is advisory until written into the plan.
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