Data Centers

The governors of two top Midwest destinations for data centers froze tax breaks for the projects as grassroots opposition groups begin building coalitions.

The AI data center boom will test communities' power, water and infrastructure capacity, requiring public finance professionals to determine who bears the costs and how private investment can produce lasting public benefit.

Rating agencies, infrastructure analysts and stakeholders are asking questions about the modeling assumptions underpinning data center financings.

While moratoriums on artificial intelligence hubs and public pushback against data centers dominate the news, more than 800 Midwest communities have approved major data centers, with Illinois as a growing hotspot with 229 sites.

Wisconsin and Ohio lawmakers are showing signs of diverging on data centers as grassroots opposition grows in both states.

The Virginia state legislature is weighing financial gains for local governments against billions of dollars in lost tax revenue and growing homeowner opposition to data centers.

Texas is set to become the world's largest data center market by 2030, according to JLL.

As public sentiment shifts around Illinois data centers, a new report warns local governments against lopsided contract terms with developers.

"The secondary infrastructure demands [of data centers] will increasingly flow through to municipal balance sheets, driving incremental issuance across multiple sectors," said J.P. Morgan strategists.

A California lawmaker introduced legislation that would require data centers that use excessive amounts of energy to pay a surcharge to avoid rate hikes on residents.

State lawmakers introduced bills to eliminate sales tax exemptions and tax credits for data centers and mandate public disclosure of water and electricity use.

Mayors across the country are taking closer looks at data center deals as a way to pay for the infrastructure they require.

Stargate data centers in Michigan and Wisconsin illustrate the risks to municipalities of such projects and the growing backlash to data centers.

The industry for years has lobbied Congress and the Treasury Department to make the changes, but the issue has taken on more urgency amid a data center boom that promises to transform the U.S. energy landscape

Approval by Doña Ana County of $165 billion of industrial revenue bonds for a massive data center project is being challenged in state court.

Utilities, and the local governments and states that house data centers, are wrestling with policy questions about who should cover the costs of the projected spikes in water and electricity demand.

Data center projects, which are proliferating across the country, are taking advantage of tax breaks that can be costly for states and local governments.

The Port Authority of Kansas City will decide whether to authorize $10 billion of taxable revenue bonds on behalf of a data center project with Google links.

A new deal with Microsoft may help fill the void left by the underperformance of a Wisconsin incentive deal to lure Foxconn to the village of Mount Pleasant.