"AI = data = energy. Energy is so central to data centers that their capacity is measured - and companies are billed - based on power consumption. The data centers promise jobs and economic growth. So state and local officials solicit them eagerly, sometimes making tax break deals that are drawing increasing skepticism and opposition from Oregon to Pennsylvania. The AI companies or others racing to serve them pay top dollar for the land, and promise additional benefits to nearby communities to build there."
"Yet the AI frenzy is juicing demand for energy-hungry data centers, which have raised wholesale electricity prices for tens of thousands of cities, towns and suburbs around the U.S. - from the classic heartland hub of Columbus, Ohio, to the Northern Virginia sprawl known as Data Center Alley. And the data center boom is only beginning. In an executive order this summer, Trump said that as part of conjuring "a golden age for American manufacturing and technological dominance," his administration will accelerate federal permitting of data center infrastructure, "including high‑voltage transmission lines and other equipment.""
AI-driven demand is sharply increasing electricity consumption as data centers require vast power to run and cool large facilities. Wholesale electricity prices have risen in many U.S. communities as data centers draw significant local supply. State and local officials often compete to attract data centers with tax breaks and incentives, while companies pay high prices for land and promise local benefits. Federal policy is moving to accelerate permitting for data center infrastructure, including transmission lines. The surge in demand helps explain a recent average 6.5% rise in consumer electricity prices, with uneven regional impacts.
Read at Axios
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