MS — State Policy Updated 2026-07-17

Mississippi

State data center tax exemptions Local property-tax relief New energy/water infrastructure tools enacted in 2026 Moratoriums Environmental constraints Zoning / land-use controls Water Constraints

Sources and method

  • Web search and direct source retrieval were used for all findings. Developments from February 1 through July 17, 2026 were checked against Mississippi bill-status records, PSC dockets, utility/company statements, MDEQ/permit and court records, local-government materials, and local reporting where primary records were not publicly accessible.

1) Incentive programs

State data center tax exemptions (MDA certification required)

  • Eligibility thresholds (statute): A “business enterprise” must own or operate a data center with minimum capital investment of $20,000,000 and at least 20 new full-time jobs with an average annual salary ≥125% of the state average wage. Mississippi Code §57-113-21 (Justia 2024), 2024
  • State taxes covered (statute): The data center exemption covers sales/use tax on component building materials and equipment for initial construction/expansion; sales/use tax on replacement hardware, software, and technology; income tax on income earned; and franchise tax on capital employed. Mississippi Code §57-113-21 (Justia 2024), 2024
  • Certification + term (statute): MDA certifies eligibility; once certified, the exemption from state taxes lasts 10 years, subject to performance requirements and MDA agreement/recapture provisions. Mississippi Code §57-113-25 (Justia 2024), 2024
  • Application requirements (statute): Application to MDA must be filed before construction or acquisition and must include project, employment, business-plan, pro-forma, service-contract, expertise, and annual-compliance information. Mississippi Code §57-113-23 (Justia 2024), 2024
  • Clean-energy conditions: The data center enterprise statute does not impose a renewable/clean-energy procurement condition; any clean-energy term would have to come from a project agreement, utility contract, permit, or local approval rather than the baseline data center exemption statute. Mississippi Code §57-113-21 (Justia 2024), 2024

Local property-tax relief (county/municipal discretion)

  • Local authority + duration cap: County boards of supervisors and municipal authorities may grant local ad valorem exemptions to enumerated new enterprises, including data/information processing enterprises and data centers; exemptions generally may not exceed 10 years for a new enterprise. Mississippi Code §27-31-101 (Justia 2024), 2024
  • 2026 adjacent expansion for energy projects: SB 3116 became law on March 16, 2026 (Chapter 363) and adds battery energy storage system facilities to certain local ad valorem exemption authority while extending the §27-31-101 reverter to 2028; it is energy-infrastructure legislation rather than a data-center-specific incentive, but it may support grid/storage projects paired with large loads. Mississippi Legislature SB 3116 history, 2026-03-16
  • No repeal or narrowing in 2026: HB 4045, which would have ended the data-center income-tax exemption after calendar year 2026 and redirected part of certain large fee-in-lieu payments, died on February 25. The baseline certified-enterprise exemptions therefore remained unchanged through July 17, 2026. Mississippi Legislature HB 4045 history, 2026-02-25
  • Corderill certification: MDA approved Corderill LLC for the Data Center Incentive based on its expected job creation for at least $100 million of equipment at Compass Datacenters’ Meridian campus; Corderill is expected to create at least 20 direct jobs, and Meridian and Lauderdale County are also assisting. Mississippi Economic Development Council, 2026-04-23

New energy/water infrastructure tools enacted in 2026

2) Restrictions and moratoriums

Moratoriums

  • No statewide data-center moratorium was enacted in the 2026 session. The most direct 2026 statewide data-center tax-change bill, HB 4045, died on the House calendar on February 25, 2026. Mississippi Legislature HB 4045 history, 2026-02-25
  • Jackson adopted Mississippi’s first local moratorium: On July 14, the City Council voted 5-2 for a six-month citywide pause while it identifies appropriate sites and studies impacts; the council may extend or cancel the pause, and an amendment exempted land around Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport. The vote superseded the council’s May tabling of the proposal. Mississippi Today, 2026-07-14

Environmental constraints (state-level)

  • Water withdrawals: MDEQ’s Office of Land and Water Resources issues permits for groundwater withdrawals and surface-water diversion/withdrawal/impoundment. MDEQ Office of Land and Water Resources, accessed 2026-07-17
  • Amazon water plans by site: Amazon says its regional facilities use air cooling about 91% of the year. Canton is to transition in 2027 to about 83 million gallons/year of recycled wastewater and is funding upgrades that Amazon says will increase Canton Municipal Utilities water capacity by 39% and Beatties Bluff wastewater capacity by 50%; Ridgeland could use up to 93 million gallons/year of city water alongside a $37 million system upgrade; Vicksburg requested 25 million gallons/year; and Clinton is planned as air-cooled. These are company-supplied plans reported by Mississippi Today, not independently audited consumption totals. Mississippi Today, 2026-06-09
  • Air permits: Clean Air Act permitting in Mississippi is administered through MDEQ and EPA Region 4; MDEQ maintains the state air-quality permitting program. MDEQ Air, accessed 2026-07-17
  • xAI Southaven air permit: On March 10, 2026, the Mississippi Environmental Quality Permit Board approved an MZX Tech/xAI construction permit for 41 methane gas-fired turbines in Southaven, intended to power xAI’s Colossus 2 operations across the Tennessee line; local reporting stated the permitted machines would replace 27 turbines already housed at the facility. Mississippi Free Press, 2026-03-10 Mississippi Today, 2026-03-10
  • xAI permit appeal and Clean Air Act case: NAACP, Young Gifted & Green, and Safe and Sound Coalition appealed MDEQ’s 41-turbine permit on April 9. Separately, NAACP plaintiffs sued xAI and MZX Tech on April 14 over the allegedly unlawful operation of then-identified unpermitted mobile turbines. Southern Environmental Law Center, 2026-04-09 Earthjustice, 2026-04-14
  • Temporary-turbine count increased: MDEQ confirmed in May that xAI had added 19 temporary-mobile turbines between March 25 and May 2, bringing the Southaven count then known to the agency to 46; MDEQ treated the trailer-mounted units as temporarily exempt and said it was evaluating the growing cluster. Mississippi Today, 2026-05-11
  • Later litigation and regulator-record update: Three Southaven residents filed a proposed federal class action on June 8 alleging near-constant turbine noise, vibration, nuisance, health effects, and property harm. DOJ moved on June 15 to intervene in and dismiss the separate Clean Air Act citizen suit; neither case had a merits resolution by July 17. U.S. District Court complaint, 2026-06-08 U.S. Department of Justice, 2026-06-16
  • Most current reported turbine inventory: Communications between regulators and xAI representatives reviewed by Reuters identified 59 turbines associated with Colossus 2 without federal clean-air permits, at least 57 of them in Mississippi. xAI and MDEQ maintain that the temporary/mobile units do not require permits; plaintiffs dispute that interpretation. Reuters, 2026-07-14

Zoning / land-use controls

  • Local zoning authority: Mississippi municipalities and counties retain authority to regulate land use through zoning ordinances and amendments. Mississippi Code §17-1-3 (Justia 2024), 2024
  • Public hearing requirement: Zoning ordinances and amendments require a public hearing with at least 15 days’ notice. Mississippi Code §17-1-15 (Justia 2024), 2024
  • Clinton zoning update: On June 3, 2026, Clinton’s Board of Aldermen amended its zoning ordinance so new data centers must obtain conditional-use permits and are limited to industrial zones. WAPT, 2026-06-03
  • Ridgeland zoning update: Ridgeland adopted an ordinance in April requiring a 500-foot residential buffer for data centers and advance planning for electricity, water, and sewer needs. Mississippi Today, 2026-06-01
  • Clarksdale conditional rezoning: On March 23, the Board of Mayor and Commissioners rezoned a 648-acre potential hyperscale site from commercial/agricultural to light industrial. The action did not approve a project or development agreement; conditions include a $5 million impact fee before work, developer-funded public-utility upgrades, an additional 1,000-foot residential setback, and an average water-use ceiling of 300,000 gallons/day. City of Clarksdale FAQ, 2026-03-23 Mississippi Today, 2026-03-24
  • Jackson/Saxum proceeding paused: Saxum expanded its northwest Jackson request to approximately 230 acres, but the city delayed the rezoning while it developed data-center standards. The July 14 moratorium now pauses that proposal along with other covered approvals, subject to the airport-area exception. Mississippi Today, 2026-07-07 Mississippi Today, 2026-07-14

3) Local governance and community opposition patterns

  • State preemption: No data-center-specific statewide siting-preemption statute was identified; local zoning, permit hearings, and local incentive approvals remain key control points. Mississippi Code §17-1-3 (Justia 2024), 2024
  • Local control over property-tax relief: County boards and municipal authorities retain discretion over local ad valorem exemptions and fee-in-lieu arrangements. Mississippi Code §27-31-101 (Justia 2024), 2024
  • Community opposition: xAI’s Southaven turbine operations generated sustained noise, air-quality, and procedural objections from residents and advocacy groups during the February–March 2026 permit process. Mississippi Free Press, 2026-02-17 Action News 5, 2026-02-17
  • Jackson spillover: Southaven residents traveled to Jackson’s May 19, 2026 council meeting to urge caution on new data centers, while Jackson residents opposed a proposed local data center/rezoning near Presidential Hills. Mississippi Free Press, 2026-05-21 Mississippi Today, 2026-05-27
  • State study process: The Artificial Intelligence Regulation Task Force heard 19 speakers over July 13–14 on power bills, water, jobs, local control, and behind-the-meter generation. It is expected to make recommendations before the 2027 regular session; as of July 17, this was a study process, not an enacted data-center regulatory program. Mississippi Today, 2026-07-14

4) Legislative activity (2024–2026)

5) Notable projects (announced / under construction / operational)

  • Amazon/AWS (Madison, Hinds, Warren counties): Amazon’s April 9, 2026 company update said its Mississippi planned investment had reached $25 billion with 2,000 jobs expected, including an additional $11 billion in Madison County and $1 billion in Hinds County. Amazon, 2026-04-09
  • Amazon Clinton/site confirmation: Local reporting in March identified Amazon Data Services as the company behind a $750 million Clinton data center at a 99-acre former Milwaukee Tool site; Entergy later described the Clinton/Hinds project as $1 billion. WLBT, 2026-03-04 Entergy, 2026-04-09
  • Amazon four-site summary: By May 2026, Mississippi Today reported Amazon data center locations at Ridgeland, Canton, Clinton, and Vicksburg, consistent with Amazon’s statewide $25 billion planned-investment update. Mississippi Today, 2026-05-28 Amazon, 2026-04-09
  • Amazon construction/operations status: By June 9, Amazon reported five buildings operating at Canton with plans at least to double that presence; Ridgeland was in early construction; and Clinton and Vicksburg were in site-preparation/pre-construction. Mississippi Today, 2026-06-09
  • xAI (Southaven, DeSoto County): xAI announced a >$20 billion Southaven data center/power investment in January 2026; follow-on reporting identified the MACROHARDRR data center at 2400 Stateline Road as an 810,000-square-foot warehouse expected to initially employ 145 people, with neighborhood concerns over noise and emissions. Mississippi Today, 2026-01-08 Mississippi Free Press, 2026-02-17
  • AVAIO Digital (Brandon/Rankin County): AVAIO’s $6 billion Taurus data center campus in Brandon remained relevant in 2026 because SB 3410 created special Brandon/West Rankin water and wastewater contracting authority for a data center or related technology facility. MDA, 2025-08-19 Mississippi Legislature SB 3410 history, 2026-04-08
  • Compass Datacenters (Meridian/Lauderdale County): Compass remains a major earlier project: MDA announced a $10 billion Meridian campus in Lauderdale County in January 2025, consisting of eight data centers over eight years, with Mississippi Power expected to supply approximately 500 MW. MDA, 2025-01-09
  • Corderill at Compass: Corderill became the first newly announced tenant during the update window, committing at least $100 million in equipment and at least 20 direct jobs at Compass’s Meridian campus. Mississippi Economic Development Council, 2026-04-23
  • Clarksdale prospect: The city conditionally rezoned 648 acres for a possible multi-billion-dollar hyperscale campus, but no developer agreement or project approval had been announced by July 17. City of Clarksdale FAQ, 2026-03-23 Mississippi Today, 2026-03-24
  • Jackson/Saxum proposal: Jackson had not approved Saxum’s proposed rezoning by July 17; its approximately 230-acre application is paused while the city studies regulations under the July 14 moratorium. Mississippi Today, 2026-07-14

Gaps / follow-ups for deeper primary-source coverage

  • Local development agreements and FILOT contracts for Clinton, Madison County, Warren County, Jackson/Saxum, Clarksdale, and Brandon/AVAIO should be reviewed directly for tax base, school-district, water, and cost-shifting terms.
  • Public versions of utility service agreements remain limited. SB 2001 and confidentiality around Entergy/Amazon contracts continue to limit independent review of customer-protection provisions and cost allocation.