Inside the eight-figure plan to build data centers despite moratoriums - Eric Erb

Across the country, ordinary citizens are telling the data center industry a resounding NO, and the industry has answered with a war chest of its own. OpenAI, Blackstone, SoftBank and QTS have joined major construction unions to form the American Infrastructure Alliance. This "high eight-figure campaign" is designed to steer lawmakers away from moratoriums and toward regulatory "guardrails" - effectively branding the data center initiative as "responsible growth" that is good for jobs and the community.

Key points:

The alliance will target Texas, Georgia, Ohio, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Indiana and South Carolina through the 2027 legislative sessions.

Local resistance is working. Data Center Watch counted 45 projects worth $68 billion blocked or delayed in the second quarter alone.
The alliance is embracing the language of accountability while opposing the one tool - a pause - that allows independent study.
Organized labor, poll-tested messaging and direct cash offers to households are central to the strategy.
Critics argue that making developers "pay their own way" does not address noise, pollution, water contamination or lost farmland. https://tinyurl.com/2x3mujmp