Tennessee Gubernatorial Candidates Debate Statewide Oversight of AI Data Centers

Tennessee gubernatorial candidates Jerri Green, David Hatley and Lauren Pinkston called for limits on AI data center development during a Tennessee Press Association forum. Green and Pinkston supported a statewide moratorium, while Hatley backed local control and requirements that data centers cover associated property tax, electricity and water costs. Republican candidate Marsha Blackburn, who did not attend the forum, has said communities should decide whether to accept data centers and has proposed protecting residents from higher utility rates.

The debate follows local actions across Tennessee. The Rutherford County Commission unanimously recommended a 12-month moratorium, with the county’s Public Works and Planning Committee scheduled to consider a resolution pausing the acceptance and processing of data center land-use applications. Metro Nashville imposed a temporary moratorium near the Nashville Zoo after the zoo raised environmental and animal welfare concerns, while Memphis City Council members substituted a 135-day construction halt after a proposed one-year moratorium failed.