More governors are shifting their stances or taking more steps to squeeze data centers as the midterm elections near and public opinion sours on the energy-hungry behemoths that tech giants and developers are building to fuel artificial intelligence products and cloud computing.<\/p>\n
\n
The backlash\u00a0to the\u00a0massive\u00a0server warehouses is enveloping races for governor in some of the nation\u2019s biggest states and presidential battlegrounds.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, Pennsylvania Gov.\u00a0Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, said his administration would no longer put data center projects at the head of the line when it comes to issuing construction permits or granting developers a lucrative tax exemption if they don\u2019t meet certain standards.<\/p>\n
Those include plans to pay the full cost of their electricity and show how they will use advanced technology to limit water use. They also must first win local approval before they can seek state approval. They are, he said, the \u201cstrictest guardrails in the nation,\u201d although he stopped short of imposing a moratorium on issuing permits.<\/p>\n
Shapiro, considered a potential contender for the White House in 2028, is facing increasing pressure from his GOP opponent,\u00a0Stacy Garrity, as communities across the state revolt against proposed data centers.<\/p>\n
At a news conference, Shapiro slammed what he called \u201cpredatory developers\u201d trying to bully local officials and ram through dozens of projects in Pennsylvania \u2014 his administration said it counted reports of more than 100 \u2014 that likely will never be built because they don\u2019t have the financing, power supply or tech-sector clients to use the space.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese speculators are nevertheless scaring our communities, being aggressive with township officials, bullying our neighbors, our fellow Pennsylvanians, and refusing to listen to the people,\u201d Shapiro said. \u201cAnd they are threatening to fundamentally change the character of our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n
In particular, he singled out developers aiming to build six campuses of about 50 server warehouses in tiny Archbald Borough that has spawned a community uprising, a lawsuit by one developer and motions by another to force the recusal of six of the town\u2019s seven council members.<\/p>\n
In a statement, Garrity said Shapiro \u201clit the fuse on the chaos we are seeing in community after community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, in Texas, Democratic challenger Gina Hinojosa released a TV ad in rural markets Tuesday accusing Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of \u201cselling you out\u201d to data center executives and companies.<\/p>\n
The ad airs as Hinojosa, a state lawmaker, has aggressively looked\u00a0to exploit an undercurrent of discontent\u00a0in rural, Republican strongholds over data centers\u2019 perceived threat to rural life, ranchland and dwindling water supplies.<\/p>\n
Challengers are capitalizing on growing discontent<\/h4>\n
At one time, both Shapiro and Abbott had been cheerleaders for data centers and actively sought to recruit them, with\u00a0Shapiro appearing with Amazon officials\u00a0to announce a $20 billion investment in Pennsylvania, and Abbott, likewise, appearing with Google execs to announce its $40 billion investment in Texas.<\/p>\n
But in recent weeks, Abbott ordered regulators to take steps to ensure Texans were not paying higher electricity bills because of data centers, even telling them to hold up data center projects until they complete their work.<\/p>\n
He also promised to push a legislative agenda next year to impose regulations on data centers, including taking away the state\u2019s billion-dollar-plus-per-year tax break.<\/p>\n
For much of the past year, a growing number of data center projects have met rejection in local zoning or permitting board votes across the U.S., as\u00a0angry residents pack once-sleepy municipal meetings.<\/p>\n
Losing open space, farmland, forest or rural character is a big concern. So is the damage to quality of life, property values or health by on-site diesel generators kicking on or the constant hum of servers. Others worry that wells and aquifers could run dry or\u00a0electricity bills will skyrocket.<\/p>\n
Small, under-the-radar data centers have been around for decades. But the explosion of artificial intelligence chatbots has given rise to data centers that are larger than\u00a0anything just about any town has ever seen. Some of them dwarf football stadiums and factories and use more energy than small cities.<\/p>\n
States trying to tighten the screws on data centers<\/h4>\n
In some states, governors and lawmakers are trying to force data centers to pay for their own electricity supply, limit their water use, disclose more about their operations and do more to win community support. They are also chafing at the\u00a0rising tab for the sales tax exemption\u00a0most states offer data centers.<\/p>\n
In Arizona, Democratic Gov.\u00a0Katie Hobbs, who is seeking reelection, got lawmakers to agree to slap a three-year moratorium on the state\u2019s sales tax exemption for data centers. Hobbs, who had voted to create the tax credits when she was a legislator, called it a \u201ccorporate handout.\u201d<\/p>\n
New York Gov.\u00a0Kathy Hochul, a Democrat seeking reelection, ordered a one-year ban on large\u00a0data centers\u00a0to give the state time to impose protections for the environment and its energy grid.<\/p>\n
Shapiro isn\u2019t the only potential 2028 White House hopeful to step up his criticism of data centers. Illinois Gov.\u00a0JB Pritzker, a Democrat running for a third term, halted new sales tax exemptions for data centers there until lawmakers impose tougher standards on their operations.<\/p>\n
In Ohio, the Democratic and Republican nominees for governor \u2014\u00a0Dr. Amy Acton\u00a0and\u00a0Vivek Ramaswamy\u00a0\u2014 in recent days each unveiled dueling data center policies that called for developers to meet tougher standards before being built.<\/p>\n
Data center opposition isn\u2019t necessarily a golden ticket<\/h4>\n
In Wisconsin, the Democratic nominee for governor, David Crowley,\u00a0narrowly defeated\u00a0a challenger who made her call for a one-year moratorium on data center construction a centerpiece of her campaign.<\/p>\n
Crowley has taken a more nuanced approach, saying local communities must have veto authority, while also saying data centers are a part of the modern economy and could bring significant economic benefits to the state.<\/p>\n
His\u00a0Republican opponent, U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, has attacked Crowley on the issue, including a TV ad released this week where he calls him \u201cData Center David Crowley.\u201d<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
Associated Press writers Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, and J.J. Cooper in Phoenix contributed to this report.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
#Pennsylvania #Ohio #Texas #governors #races #coming #data #centers<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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<\/p>\n