David Jolly calls for halt on construction of data centers
Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Jolly has called for an immediate moratorium on data center construction in Florida, citing environmental, labor, and privacy concerns. This comes as the city of Lakeland is independently moving towards a one-year moratorium on new data centers and other large industrial developments. Jolly also highlighted a campaign donation from a data center developer to his Republican opponent.
David Jolly, a Democratic candidate for Florida governor, announced his support for an immediate moratorium on data center construction during a campaign rally in Lakeland. Jolly cited a lack of environmental and labor protections, along with concerns about privacy and safety related to artificial intelligence, as reasons for the proposed halt. He specifically pointed to the erasure of 1980s growth management mechanisms by past Republican governors as a contributing factor to current environmental vulnerabilities.
The call for a statewide moratorium comes as the city of Lakeland is independently moving towards enacting a one-year moratorium on new data centers and other large industrial developments with a peak electrical demand exceeding 50 megawatts. The issue gained local prominence with a reporter's question regarding a 4.4-million-square-foot data center planned for Fort Meade, which is still awaiting necessary permits.
Jolly also raised suspicions about the influence of "Big Tech" money in state politics, noting that Fort Meade LLC, the developer behind the proposed data center, recently donated $10,000 to the campaign of Byron Donalds, the leading Republican candidate for governor. Jolly suggested this donation indicates an awareness of the issue among political opponents and their support for policies favoring developers over environmental concerns.