Power grid impacts, electricity costs, energy procurement, and utility concerns related to data centers. Data Center Signal is tracking 23,740 clips related to electricity across all 50 states.
Fort Worth officials and Tarrant County leaders are divided over whether local governments should regulate data centers immediately or wait for the Texas Legislature to act in 2027. Opposition is growing to the proposed Circle T data center in Westlake, while Fort Worth’s proposed zoning, noise, water-use and wastewater rules remain under review.
A proposed 900-megawatt data center campus in Vance County is prompting residents to question its water use, electricity demands and broader effects on the rural community. The article explains that North Carolina's permit-choice law could allow the developer to proceed under earlier regulations, while noting the project's potential economic benefits and infrastructure demands.
Opposition to data center development has become a prominent issue in several competitive Pennsylvania congressional races. In South Whitehall Township, residents are fighting Edged US’s proposed Project Atlas complex, citing concerns about neighborhood impacts, electricity costs, water use and environmental effects.
A T5-commissioned study claims its Grayslake data center development will generate nearly $10 billion in economic output across Illinois by 2031, including billions in Lake County revenue and thousands of jobs. Local opponents, including the Lake County Data Center Opposition Coalition, dispute the projections and have sued to stop the project, citing concerns about transparency, power use, water, noise, contamination and air quality.
Lowhill Township is revising its data center ordinance to create different regulatory tiers for large and smaller digital infrastructure facilities. The proposed rules would preserve environmental protections and impose stricter oversight on projects requiring at least 50 megawatts of electricity, although the township has not received a formal data center proposal.
Texas is still awaiting rules from the Public Utility Commission on how to allocate transmission upgrade costs associated with data centers and other large power users. CenterPoint Energy has collected nearly $900 million in security deposits for projects in the Houston area, but it remains unclear whether customers could ultimately bear some of the costs.
The article examines how a Democratic trifecta in Pennsylvania could advance proposals to regulate data centers, limit their effects on electricity bills and impose fees on large water users. Environmental advocates are also calling for a moratorium on new data center construction, but Gov. Josh Shapiro is viewed as unlikely to support one because of his efforts to attract the industry.
Residents, health professionals and environmental opponents urged the Ohio Power Siting Board to reject PowerConneX New Albany 3, a proposed 450-megawatt gas-fired power plant serving a data center. The project would support about 1.3 million square feet of data center space, remove 65 acres of trees and generate substantial air pollution if approved.
The Citizens Utility Board says ComEd could spend about $3.1 billion on transmission and distribution upgrades to connect roughly 30 large-load projects, most of which it believes are data centers. CUB argues data center operators should cover those costs rather than Illinois households, and supports state and federal legislation requiring stronger consumer protections.
The Clackamas County Board of Commissioners unanimously voted to pause data center permit applications for six months. During the pause, the county will study impacts on water availability, utility costs, natural resources, infrastructure, land use and economic opportunities while developing potential regulations and seeking public input.
Palm Beach County leaders have paused plans to hire a consulting firm to study potential data center impacts, including noise, power demand and water use. The county is already under a one-year moratorium on new data centers, and commissioners are expected to revisit the issue next month.
Estherville’s Planning and Zoning Commission is continuing discussions about a potential small-scale data center proposed by PathOne Data Centers. Residents raised concerns about noise, water usage and facility deconstruction, while Emmet County’s one-year moratorium on new data center projects applies only to unincorporated areas.
Venture Global says it is buying large generators and exploring data center development near its LNG facilities in Cameron and Plaquemines parishes. Local officials, including Cameron Parish Police Juror Mark Daigle, said they were surprised by the announcement and concerned about the lack of communication.
Wausau’s City Council is set to reconsider the city’s newly adopted data center rules, which include a 200-foot buffer from residential zoning and require conditional-use approval. The rules also mandate reviews of water use, wastewater, sound, energy consumption and sustainability, while Marathon County separately approved a 12-month pause on data center development in county-zoned towns.
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria signed an executive order calling for a temporary moratorium on new data center development. The proposed freeze follows community opposition to a 400-megawatt facility at the NAVWAR campus and must be approved by the San Diego City Council.
The South Kingstown Town Council is considering an ordinance that would ban dedicated data centers townwide and require special approval for any proposed facility. The proposal cites data centers' heavy electricity and water use and is headed for a public hearing before a council vote.
An opinion article argues that data center expansion and the transmission, wind and solar infrastructure supporting it are driving up rural land values and pushing farmers off their property. It cites a 2,100-acre AI data center site in Barber County, Kansas, and federal financing for an electric generation facility in Georgia, but does not identify the developers involved.
The 138th House District election includes debate over three proposed data center developments in Upper and Lower Mount Bethel townships. Democratic candidate Jared Bitting supports a moratorium and stronger energy, water and environmental rules, while incumbent Ann Flood’s voting record includes support for a six-month development pause and repeal of data center tax incentives but opposition to several reporting and regulatory measures.
The article examines the unprecedented scale of U.S. data center investment, estimating it could reach $10 trillion and nearly 4% of GDP. It also highlights concerns about energy and water costs, pressure on housing and other investment, and growing state efforts to reduce subsidies or pause approvals.
About 60 people in Culpeper joined a March for Moratorium protest opposing new data center construction, the conversion of local farmland and high-voltage transmission lines. Organizers are calling for a statewide pause on new data center development in Virginia.