kspress.com: https://kspress.com/news/2026/05/23/data-center-battles-started-in-the-states-now-it%E2%80%99s-congress-under-siege

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Subject: L000601
Source: GDELT news · original
Published: Sunday, May 24, 2026

Data center battles started in the states. Now it’s Congress under siege. | Kansas Press Association Menu About Newsfeed Advertising Marketplace Kansas Public Notices Contests & Convention Best Of Competitions Hall of Fame Become a Member Member Portal Search form Search this site Home Newsfeed Data center battles started in the states. Now it’s Congress under siege. Posted May 23, 2026 Community members protest ahead of a special Box Elder County Commission meeting to discuss the Stratos project, a massive data center proposed for an unincorporated area in Box Elder County, Utah, on May 4, 2026. (Photo by Alixel Cabrera/Utah News Dispatch) WASHINGTON — Higher electric rates? Massive data centers looming over neighborhoods? Ugly political fights over what to do about them? The future of da

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Data center battles started in the states. Now it’s Congress under siege. | Kansas Press Association Menu About Newsfeed Advertising Marketplace Kansas Public Notices Contests & Convention Best Of Competitions Hall of Fame Become a Member Member Portal Search form Search this site Home Newsfeed Data center battles started in the states. Now it’s Congress under siege. Posted May 23, 2026 Community members protest ahead of a special Box Elder County Commission meeting to discuss the Stratos project, a massive data center proposed for an unincorporated area in Box Elder County, Utah, on May 4, 2026. (Photo by Alixel Cabrera/Utah News Dispatch) WASHINGTON — Higher electric rates? Massive data centers looming over neighborhoods? Ugly political fights over what to do about them? The future of data centers and their huge appetite for electricity is quickly escalating as a political flashpoint from coast to coast, moving from cities and states now to the nation’s capital. Bills are under debate in Congress. The Trump administration has weighed in. Lobbying is intensifying. The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing changes. But finding consensus on how to proceed in D.C. is tough, with the industry spreading around millions to make its case, some lawmakers pushing a moratorium, and others looking for ways to ease the burden on Americans without halting development. At the grassroots, intense opposition continues breaking out. In early May, community members screamed and booed when commissioners in Box Elder County, Utah, unanimously approved two resolutions in support of a 40,000-acre data center campus proposed for an unincorporated site in the county. Asked if he sees any momentum in Congress to do anything significant about the potential spread of data centers, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said in an interview, “Only with voters.” Hawley and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., are pushing a plan to assure consumers they will pay no increases in utility rates because of data centers. Crews work on the Applied Digital data center construction in Harwood, North Dakota, on May 6, 2026. (Photo by Dan Koeck/North Dakota Monitor) Getting Congress to act is more complicated. “Some communities may have too many, but some would like the opportunity to have one of these data centers that pay a lot of local taxes,” Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., who represents a state embroiled in its own fight over the issue, said in an interview. There is general agreement that the issues need exploring, and fast. “Demand for reliable energy is rising faster than at any point in history. Clearly, we will need more generation and transmission, and a great deal more of it,” said House Energy Subcommittee Chairman Robert Latta, R-Ohio , at a May 13 hearing. The Data Center Coalition, the industry’s membership association, says it’s eager to work with lawmakers and consumers. “Data centers power modern life—from telehealth and digital classrooms to banking, air travel, financial transactio

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