Overview
- Local opposition has multiplied into hundreds of bans and moratoriums that have delayed or blocked major projects and forced developers to add community consent and private power or water plans to budgets.
- A bipartisan House panel advanced the Ratepayer Protection Act to require very large electricity users to cover grid upgrades, a move that mirrors and could codify the White House’s expanded nonbinding Ratepayer Protection Pledge.
- President Trump plans to roll out an expanded pledge backed by governors, utilities and developers that aims to keep the costs of new data‑center demand off household bills while stopping short of a legal mandate.
- Republican Rep. Byron Donalds and other lawmakers have proposed bills that would require data centers to source private power and water or pay full interconnection and infrastructure costs, reshaping project economics and permitting timelines.
- Public polling shows steep, bipartisan opposition to local data centers, experts warn they will raise electricity demand and heavy water use for cooling, and industry trackers estimate roughly $130 billion of projects were stalled this year as communities push for stricter rules.