Oklahoma gubernatorial candidates address growing debate over data centers
Oklahoma gubernatorial candidates Mike Mazzei and Cyndi Munson offered different approaches to regulating data centers. Munson supports a temporary statewide moratorium, while Mazzei would allow development with requirements for independent energy, closed-loop cooling and locally approved industrial sites.
The debate over data center development has entered Oklahoma’s gubernatorial race. Democratic candidate Cyndi Munson said she would issue an executive order imposing a temporary moratorium on new projects to assess their effects and establish uniform statewide standards, while Republican candidate Mike Mazzei opposed taxpayer support and favored allowing projects under strict conditions.
Mazzei said data centers should provide their own energy, limit water consumption through advanced closed-loop cooling systems and locate only on locally approved industrial property. The proposals come as Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Edmond and other local governments, along with the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma, have adopted temporary moratoriums or other pauses on data center development.