Dickerson data center (former Dickerson coal plant)
Also called: Atmosphere Data Centers Dickerson, Terra Energy Dickerson
A company wants to turn the old Dickerson coal plant on the Potomac River into a 360 MW data center campus. It would take river water and reuse old power lines. New county pauses and rules may stop or delay it.
Where things stand: An earlier 2-building plan was approved in 2024. A bigger 5-building, 360 MW plan is pending; a public hearing is set for Nov. 12-13, 2026. County pauses and a ban may block it.
🕒 Latest update (July 28, 2026): County Council passed an 18-month data center moratorium (Bill 19-26E) and a separate prohibition (Ordinance 20-35).
Montgomery County public hearing on the updated plan. Anyone can come and speak.
What we know
- 📍 WhereFormer Dickerson Generating Station on the Potomac River, about 2 miles west of Dickerson, Unincorporated Montgomery County, Montgomery County
- 🏢 CompanyAtmosphere Data Centers
- ⚡ Power it needs360 megawatts (about as much as 288,000 homes)
- 🔌 Where the power comes fromWould reuse the old coal plant's power lines and substation; includes a large battery storage facility.
- 💧 WaterPotomac River (permit sought to withdraw up to 2 million gallons on peak days)
❓ Still unanswered
Nobody has answered these in public yet. Can you help find out?
- Do the county's new moratorium and ban apply to the Dickerson project? 🙋 I'll find out
- Has the state decided on the Potomac River water withdrawal and discharge permits? 🙋 I'll find out
- Who would use the data center? 🙋 I'll find out
What happened so far
- 2022Retired coal plant was sold to Terra Energy.
- 2024Montgomery County approved Terra Energy's plan for a two-building data center and battery facility.
- 2025Atmosphere applied for a state permit to take up to 2 million gallons a day from the Potomac on peak days.
- May 2026Atmosphere refiled a bigger plan: five buildings, 360 MW.
- June 12, 2026County Executive paused data center permits for six months (Executive Order 109-26).
- July 28, 2026County Council passed an 18-month data center moratorium (Bill 19-26E) and a separate prohibition (Ordinance 20-35).
Local votes and rules
⏸️ Pause on new data centers
The county council voted 11-0 to pause new data center permits for 18 months, until early 2028 (Expedited Bill 19-26). It replaces the county executive's six-month pause. Existing data centers are not affected. The developer of the Dickerson project said the pause applies to it.
🗺️ Zoning change
The county council passed a zoning change (ZTA 26-01) that sets a legal definition of a data center and closes loopholes. An advocacy group reports it also blocks data centers larger than 25 megawatts.
⚖️ Court case
Atmosphere Data Centers, which wants to build in Dickerson, appealed the county executive's six-month pause to the county's zoning hearings office. The council's 18-month pause later replaced the six-month pause.
⏸️ Pause on new data centers
County Executive Marc Elrich ordered the permits department to stop taking and processing permit applications for new data centers for six months. The council's 18-month pause replaced it in July 2026.
📌 Other
County Executive Marc Elrich proposed data center rules: stricter limits on diesel generator pollution and noise, data centers making at least 80% of their own power, industrial zones only, and public hearings.
An aerial photo of the area.
Where this comes from
- Dickerson data center: Maryland Data Center Series · Nature Forward · Aug 14, 2026
- Maryland counties to data center industry: Slow down · Bay Journal · Feb 16, 2026
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