Recently, Texas Governor Greg Abbott released new directives concerning data centers, including a pause on certain data center projects in the state. This comes on the heels of a similar announcement by Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.

Following this announcement, Jennifer Huddleston, a senior fellow in technology policy at the Cato Institute, released a statement:

“A growing number of states are imposing additional restrictions on data centers that do not apply to other development projects or are pausing their approval and construction. These actions create additional burdens that could slow projects that provide much-needed infrastructure for the U.S. to remain the leader in innovation and to meet the growing demand for services that consumers and businesses want. Data centers play an important role not only in the development of artificial intelligence but also in existing technologies such as cloud computing and more.
 
“Local communities have analyzed the tradeoffs for decades before the recent heated debate, and many have found significant benefits, including in tax revenue. There are conversations to have more broadly around energy policy, but policymakers should not single out data centers rather than have those serious policy conversations about how to improve the growing demands on the grid. Decisions around data centers are best handled by local communities who can have the most specific conversations around tradeoffs and benefits.

“Data centers role as infrastructure for our technology ecosystem is about so much more than chatbots and social media. Data centers power the AI that make an array of progress possible including important medical discoveries and data centers as the backbone for the broad range of businesses that rely on cloud computing.”

To speak with Huddleston, contact Christopher Tarvardian.