New governors in multiple U.S. states intend to pause data center construction, affecting about 40% of pending capacity

TechFlow, November 06: According to Jin10 Data, opposition to data centers across the U.S. continues to intensify, and the regulatory environment has clearly shifted after the midterm elections, making it more unfavorable for AI infrastructure construction. Newly elected governors in Ohio, Georgia, Michigan, New Mexico, and Texas pledged during their campaigns to halt or pause data center construction statewide; incoming governors in New York and Oregon pledged to extend moratoriums already in effect locally. Candidates supporting construction pauses in Alaska and Kansas are currently leading, but results have not yet been officially confirmed.

According to market intelligence firm Cleanview, about 40% of planned data center capacity in the U.S. is slated to be located in the above states. In addition, 46 local ballot measures have already passed or are expected to pass, which will also hinder data center development; at least 17 of them directly prohibit the construction of large data centers.

Source: TechFlow