500+ US towns now restrict data centers as New York and Texas enforce statewide bans
Source: The Information
Local governments are blocking hyperscaler expansion through land-use regulation, with municipal restrictions nearly doubling since June as energy demand and grid strain become visible political liabilities. Communities once competed for data center tax breaks; they now treat compute capacity as a public nuisance equivalent to waste facilities. The cost of AI's power consumption is being externalized onto water systems and electrical grids rather than absorbed by operators.