Data centers in Coffee County, Tennessee: 1 project mapped

Imagery: Esri, Maxar

Coffee County's data center was going to be on federal land, where the county has no say. In October 2025 the Air Force offered parcels at Arnold Air Force Base as one of five bases where private companies could lease land for up to 50 years to build AI data centers. The others were Edwards in California, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey, Davis-Monthan in Arizona and Robins in Georgia. The notice said lessees would have to obtain and pay for all their own power and water, and that the Air Force would favor proposals that minimize the impact on the surrounding community. Planning Commission Chairman Steve Cunningham worried that President Trump's July 2025 executive order speeding federal permitting for data centers "basically strips communities of their ability to put roadblocks up."

The county moved anyway. At the Planning Commission's May 26, 2026 meeting, County Mayor Dennis Hunt asked for a six-month moratorium on data center reviews, acknowledging the county could not block a project on federal land but saying it had to close gaps in its own zoning fast. "If somebody had already been in here asking for a zoning compliance certificate, we would be in trouble," Hunt said. He said the county's A1 agricultural district would currently seem to allow data centers. Commissioner Duncan doubled the request to 12 months: "They don't really even bring that many jobs to your county. They just suck all your resources." The motion passed unanimously, and the county commission passed the moratorium unanimously on June 9.

Then the base project collapsed. On June 1, Arnold AFB said potential lessees would not submit proposals for its parcels, based on responses from companies in the multi-base selection. The moratorium stands, through June 9, 2027, while the county rewrites its zoning; a county planner drafted a nine-page amendment, which Hunt kept from the public while it was reviewed.

Every project above is drawn from public records, filings and local reporting. Each row links to what it is based on. Statuses change, so check the source date before you rely on one. Found something wrong? Write to [email protected] and it gets fixed.