Beltline Energy Pulls Data Center Proposal in Pacific
Aug 12, 2026 Posted by Abdul-Rahman Oladimeji Published in Missouri
Renewable energy company Beltline Energy has withdrawn its proposal to rezone a parcel of land in Pacific, Missouri, for a planned data center. Pacific Mayor Debbie Kelley confirmed the withdrawal in a statement posted on Friday, August 7, 2026. The application was submitted by BLE Landholdings, a subsidiary of Beltline Energy.
“I want to make it unequivocally clear that should a formal request ever be presented in the future, it will be brought directly before us as a community so that we can go over and evaluate it openly together before any decisions are made.”
The $16 billion proposal covered a 500-acre property at Highway O and Pheland Road, owned by Linda and William McLaren, along with the Alt Property on Denton Road. Two days before the withdrawal, Pacific imposed a one-year moratorium on new data center applications covering development, zoning, permitting, and property use.
Opponents raised environmental concerns and questioned a potential conflict of interest because William McLaren was serving on the Franklin County Planning and Zoning Commission when the application was filed. His reappointment to the commission was tabled in February after residents raised concerns about the data center project.
