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Data centers have faced moratoriums and regulations in many locations in the United States. Developers are worried that the restrictions will extend after the midterm elections. Election results in four states, including Texas, will impact the industry’s prospects.
The Wall Street Journal reported on the 26th, whether the moratoriums and various restrictive measures issued by local governments can stop the boom of the artificial intelligence (AI) industry, and where will the development of data centers go next?texas ohio,michigan ,Georgia The results of this midterm elections will be an indicator worth watching.
“Data center” developer Metroblox originally decided to build a data center in Nashville, Tennessee this summer, but the local government passed a moratorium, and the construction plan was originally halted until December this year. After lengthy delays in the project, Metroblocks CEO Ernest Popescu announced that he would withdraw the investment and focus on the development of other projects.
The report notes that data center developers are concerned about moratoriums appearing across the country, and are even more concerned that moratoriums will become more common after the midterm elections.
According to statistics, this year’s elections include more than 40 local referendums, more than 36 gubernatorial elections and several mayoral and county government key election results, which may impose restrictions on data center development.
Oregon is the latest state to ban new data center development. “This is very disturbing for the investment community,” Popescu said.
The report notes that elections in four states are currently being closely watched by developers to determine whether the data center project will fail in the future:
*texas
Current Republican Governor Greg Abbott recently announced the suspension of approvals for new data center projects. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa said Abbott’s approach does not go far enough to address Texans’ concerns about the water and electricity consumption of the state’s 200 data centers. Hinojosa’s campaign policy is that the state government will hold off on approval of new data center projects until the state legislature passes a bill to protect communities from the impact of data centers.
Recent polls show a tug-of-war between Abbott and Hinojosa. Developers are concerned about the Texas election because Texas has the second-highest number of data centers in the United States and Texas government has always been seen as a bastion of pro-business conservatives that are friendly to developers.
In the Texas US Senate election, Democratic candidate James Tallarico criticized Republican candidate Ken Paxton for accepting political donations from the data center industry, and Republican state leaders offered tax breaks for data centers, tantamount to teaming up to “sell out Texas”. Paxton said he would ensure that state residents do not have to pay for data center facilities.
*Ohio
Ohio is a state that has used tax breaks to attract technology investment in recent years, but it is now facing scrutiny. There are more than 20 local referendums this election related to restricting data centers, and both candidates in the gubernatorial election have said the approval process will become more stringent.
Republican Ohio U.S. Senator Jon Husted, who is seeking re-election this year, has been criticized by Democratic challenger Sherrod Brown as a “data center spokesperson” because Husted has supported data center projects.
*Michigan
Republican gubernatorial candidate John James has advocated for temporary restrictions on data centers, while Democratic candidate Jocelyn Benson has called for stronger protective regulations.
