Data Centers

As the public backlash against data centers begins to influence politics around the beltway, industry supporters point to the effects of tax revenue generated at the local level.

Use of a Missouri economic development tool has raised questions about whether Chapter 100 IRBs are an appropriate financing mechanism for data centers.

Counties play a unique role in the data center debate and are becoming more sophisticated in negotiating with the major players in the industry.

States are taking closer looks and passing legislation on the tax breaks that typically spur data center placement as the backlash stiffens via changes in public finance policy.

As Virginia prepares for a key primary election on Tuesday, the controversy over tax exemptions and data center proliferation is spurring alerts from law firms.

A California-based technology company was early in the contract phase of acquiring land in Oregon's capital city to build a data center.

Milwaukee is considering a bond-financed municipalization of its electric utility, which is currently run by investor-owned We Energies.

Local governments are considering data center moratoriums to give themselves time to determine how to better regulate these facilities and understand their impact on communities.

Some Southwest states and local governments are reassessing data center developments amid public backlash and litigation against the proliferating projects.

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.