Overview
- Leaders at the Western Governors’ Association meeting warned that AI data centers will drive unprecedented electricity demand, with projections cited that such facilities could consume 10%–25% of U.S. power by 2030 and examples like OpenAI’s planned 1.2-gigawatt site in Texas and potential 10-gigawatt projects in Wyoming.
- Industry panelists said local permitting is the chief bottleneck to building data centers, while Interior Secretary Doug Burgum emphasized boosting fossil and nuclear output over new renewable projects and governors called for stable policy and regional coordination on transmission.
- Governors weighed the impact of projected federal Medicaid reductions, with Arizona’s Katie Hobbs saying the state cannot backfill losses and Hawaii’s Josh Green exploring rainy-day funds, as states await independent review outcomes for the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation awards expected by year’s end.
- Health discussions also exposed tension over vaccine messaging, as HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced pushback from Green after a CDC website change cast doubt on long-established research rejecting a vaccine–autism link.
- Participants pressed for a full five-year Farm Bill rather than piecemeal extensions and noted stalled Colorado River negotiations after a missed Nov. 11 deadline, with Cox expressing confidence in a state-led deal and Hobbs urging federal engagement ahead of a Feb. 14 target.