Data Center News

Track U.S. data-center development, from AI-driven buildouts and electricity demand to utility planning, permitting, regulation, and state or local disputes. Include stories only when data centers themselves are central—not general AI, energy, or technology coverage.
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  • analysis

    Customers Pay for Virginia’s Policies on Power Production
    Virginia’s federal elections will be finished in less than two weeks, but some state-based issues are likely to keep simmering long after Election Day. Examples include the state’s policies governing data centers and how the electricity to power those centers—and the homes of millions of citizens—is generated. A court in Goochland County hosted a pretrial…
    Rich Tucker
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  • news

    Case Against Goochland Data Center Goes to Court on Tuesday
    Data centers and land use issues will be on the docket in the Goochland County Circuit Court on Tuesday. Last year, the Board of Supervisors passed legislation that carved a Technology Overlay District out of a designated growth zone in an area called West Creek, near the county’s border with Henrico County. The county said…
    Rich Tucker
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  • news

    Jackson vs. Bottoms: 3 Biggest Takeaways From the Peach State Debate
    Affordability, health care, and technology: These were three main issues that former Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and health care executive Rick Jackson were faced with during Tuesday night’s gubernatorial debate in Doraville, Georgia. The two candidates took the stage, and immediately, attacks began. Bottoms opened by saying, “While my opponent is running to enrich himself…
    Rebecca Buis
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  • news

    Flock Is Always Watching 
    Do you worry that you’re being watched?  If you drive, you probably are.   My new video covers the cameras that photograph the backs of millions of cars.  A company called Flock has 80% of that market.  Flock’s CEO says the goal is to “eliminate crime.”  But lots of people hate the cameras.     “We are asked…
    John Stossel
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  • news

    Husted’s Ratepayer Protection Act Bill on Data Centers Fails in Senate
    The Ratepayer Protection Act, meant to protect consumers from costs of data centers, failed to reach the necessary 60 votes in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, despite near-unanimous support in the House. The bill was sponsored by Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, who faces a special election in November. The bill came close in a 57-43…
    Rebecca Downs
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  • analysis

    1 Local Issue Is Shaking Up Races in Key Battleground States
    Virginia is one of the first states to open its polls, and I cast my ballot the day early voting began. There’s a lot at stake this election year in the commonwealth, particularly Virginia’s proposed constitutional amendments on abortion and marriage. But Virginia is hardly alone among the states that will shape the direction of…
    Robert B. Bluey
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  • news

    Virginia’s Energy Mix May Include Fusion, But Will Require Natural Gas
    Virginia’s economic future depends on access to reliable, affordable energy. The Commonwealth already hosts more than a third of the planet’s hyperscale data centers, for example, and plans are on the drawing board to deliver even more capacity in the decades ahead. New data centers may be required to supply their own power at peak…
    Rich Tucker
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  • analysis

    Election Year Ploy? Democrats Reject Husted’s Unanimous Consent Request on Data Centers
    Congress had a chance to address concerns about data centers felt by residents across the country, though that effort was stymied last Thursday by Democrats’ rejection of a unanimous consent request brought by Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio. Husted, who faces a special election in November, introduced the Ratepayer Protection Act in July to protect ratepayers…
    Rebecca Downs
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  • news

    Who Pays for AI Data Center Costs? House Says Big Tech, Not Consumers
    The House successfully passed its first major legislation on artificial intelligence to ensure Big Tech pays for its energy usage, rather than passing costs onto the American consumer. The Ratepayer Protection Act passed with overwhelming bipartisan support Wednesday night by a vote of 417-3. The data center operation legislation was brought forward by Rep. Gabe…
    Virginia Grace McKinnon
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  • analysis

    Can Trump Save Public Perception of Data Centers?
    Data centers have become widely unpopular with the American people, but some experts say it is up to Big Tech, not the president, to improve public opinion. President Donald Trump has been outspoken in his support for data centers, posting on Truth Social Monday that those who oppose data centers want to be “backwards and…
    Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell
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  • analysis

    Texas Governor’s Race Could Hinge on Data Center Debate 
    Data centers are emerging as a major issue in the 2026 Texas governor’s race, with Gov. Greg Abbott and Democrat challenger Gina Hinojosa taking different positions on growth, tax incentives, and impact on communities.
    Emily Medeiros
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  • news

    Data Center Debate Draws Contrast Between Democrats and GOP in Georgia
    Data centers are shaping politics and elections across the country, but that is especially true in Georgia, which has a critical gubernatorial election and a Senate race that could determine the balance of power in Washington. Democrats and Republicans are scrambling to solidify their policies toward data centers in the Peach State. Their approaches and…
    Rebecca Buis
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  • news

    Georgia County Official Says Data Center Will Cut Property Taxes
    THE CENTER SQUARE—A new data center from Open AI could cut county property tax bills significantly, an Effingham County official said, but some residents said they didn’t feel as if the tax breaks would outweigh any detrimental effects of the facility.  Dubbed Project Camilla, the 1,400-acre, 3.2-gigawatt data center will be completed in phases beginning…
    Kim Jarrett
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  • news

    Data Center Tax Break Under Fire
    Virginia is the worldwide leader in data centers, and it has been since the dawn of the modern information age. There are at least 674 data centers in Virginia, and more are on the drawing board. For example, the Hanover County Planning Commission voted last week to allow the development of a technology park that…
    Rich Tucker
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  • news

    Ken Paxton Unveils ‘Texas First’ Data Center Plan to Protect Grid, Communities
    Republican U.S. Senate candidate and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has released his plan to protect Texas’ power grid and communities from issues associated with data centers while ensuring the United States beats China in the artificial intelligence race. On Monday, Paxton released his “Texas First Data Center Plan,” which outlines four key proposals to…
    Emily Medeiros
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  • news

    Data Center Backlash Brings Thousands of Projects to a Screeching Halt
    THE DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION—Americans’ growing opposition to the prevalence of data centers has led many politicians to limit or pause their increase altogether. Lawmakers in New York and Texas, for example, have effected stoppages of data center projects, while other states, such as Pennsylvania, have issued more restrictions on data center construction. Americans’ support…
    Sean Moran
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  • opinion

    Data Centers, Polling, November Elections, and the Way Forward
    Data centers are about as popular as cancer right now, and my latest battleground polling proves it. In Wisconsin, the consummate swing state, approval for data centers falls to an abysmal 19% overall. Even worse details emerge from the poll crosstabs and a comparison to polling from the same period late last year. This TIPP Insights polling…
    Steve Cortes
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  • Hundreds Pack Overflow Rooms as Texans Sound Alarm Over Data Center Growth
    During a hearing before the House Committee on State Affairs, residents, state regulators, and local officials expressed concerns about the potential impacts that large data centers could have on the state.  On Wednesday, the State Affairs Committee heard testimony from hundreds of residents, prompting lawmakers to open two overflow rooms.  Residents raised concerns about water supplies, noise levels, and…
    Emily Medeiros
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  • exclusive

    Data Center Backlash Upends Swing State Governor’s Race
    FIRST ON DAILY SIGNAL—Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany is betting Wisconsin voters’ growing opposition to data centers can help flip the governor’s mansion, and new polling suggests he may have found one of the most potent issues in the race. After the state’s Democrat primary last week, Tiffany moved quickly to define his opponent, the…
    Robert B. Bluey
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  • news

    How Will Data Centers Affect Ohio’s Elections?
    It’s a critical election year, and candidates running for Senate and governor in Ohio are becoming increasingly aware that the issue of data centers could play a key role in the outcome of the election. On Wednesday, Axios reported on a private memo from the National Republican Senatorial Committee to artificial intelligence companies—it was titled…
    Rebecca Downs
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