Voter anger over the cost of living is hurtling forward into next year’s midterm elections, when pivotal contests will be decided by communities that are home to fast-rising electric bills or fights over who’s footing the bill to power Big Tech’s energy-hungry data centers.
Electricity costs were a key issue in this week’s elections for governor in New Jersey and Virginia, a data center hotspot, and in Georgia, where Democrats ousted two Republican incumbents for seats on the state’s utility regulatory commission.
Is there a reason why data centres can’t be fully or partially renewable? Like constructing a solar and wind farm on site?
You know when companies apply for planning and usually the councils negotiate x and y with them like if you’re gonna slap this there then you must do something for us like upgrade the surround roads or infrastructure etc. If I was approving a data centre I’d like to think it would be on the same lines, build out some new power generation 50/50 with us or something like that.
Ah shit I forgot about corruption. Just pay off the approvers.
They can be renewable. But there’s an entire right wing devoted to anti-renewables, and a lot of people who NIMBY solar and wind farms anywhere near them in line of sight