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If Virginia or Louisiana should profit by this then so be it. Californian land-use laws will have a net effect of -8 house seats against Texas. That is good. It

by arjie 2mo ago

If Virginia or Louisiana should profit by this then so be it. Californian land-use laws will have a net effect of -8 house seats against Texas. That is good. It should happen. If Texans will be poorer so Virginians will be richer, that is also good. May the American federal system reign forever. Allowing for states as experiments and letting them suffer their consequences is good. It is a machine for us to iterate on our present and future prosperity.

jnovek 2mo ago
When experiments fail the constituents pay the price, not the experimenters.
- andsoitis 2mo ago
  > When experiments fail the constituents pay the price, not the experimenters. Are you arguing that the leaders of a state, who were elected by the constituents, should not experiment and try make things better? By definition, some experiments will fail.
  - platevoltage 2mo ago
    Can you name a politician who's been elected based on their promise to put datacenter in their community?
    - andsoitis 2mo ago
      > Can you name a politician who's been elected based on their promise to put datacenter in their community? That's not a useful question. What's the point you're trying to make?
      - platevoltage 2mo ago
        You called it "experimenting". People vote for candidates because they want them to do what they campaigned on, not experiment on them. As far as I'm aware, no candidate has campaigned on building datacenters next to their constituents' houses.
- tjwebbnorfolk 2mo ago
  Nevertheless, experiments are necessary. Political entrepreneurialism is necessary if you want anything to improve. You can experiment on everyone, or you can experiment at the local level. One is obviously preferable over the other. Nobody has all the answers.
- WarmWash 2mo ago
  Maybe they should consider voting.
- mminer237 2mo ago
  The constituents elect the experimenters, and generally become the experimenters thereby.
- ihsw 2mo ago
  [dead]
coldbrewed 2mo ago
Virginia has more power infrastructure in place but said infrastructure is already seeing significant DC build out; I know little about power distribution in Louisiana but would be surprised if there was extensive spare capacity in the transmission lines and generation facilities. I'm surprised that the rust belt hasn't seen more uptake since they had all that manufacturing capacity but the backing power generation/distribution may have atrophied in the intervening years.
- ryukoposting 2mo ago
  > I'm surprised that the rust belt hasn't seen more uptake Oracle's doing something just outside the Milwaukee metro. I'd imagine there are others. Datacenter buildout is wildly unpopular around the Great Lakes, and that's not new. For Wisconsinites specifically, the whole thing has a whiff of Foxconn about it. For the uninitiated: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisconn_Valley_Science_and_Technology_Park https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisconn_Valley_Science_and_Tec...
  - mikeaskew4 2mo ago
    Drove past it a few times this summer. Wrecked the nice drive.
  - mikeaskew4 2mo ago
    Also Port Washington…
- micro2588 2mo ago
  Some of the largest proposed data centers in the US are in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio. The electricity infrastructure is important so is cheap natural gas from the Marcellus shale, natural gas pipeline infrastructure and relaxed regulations.
ElProlactin 2mo ago
> It is a machine for us to iterate on our present and future prosperity. The former middle class has entered the chat.
- deleted 2mo ago
  [deleted]
w29UiIm2Xz 2mo ago
Polling shows a fairly bipartisan opposition to data centers, so it could encourage more states to join in with pauses of their own.
- adamrezich 2mo ago
  Well yeah nobody wants their local water supply to be either disintegrated into subatomic particles or polluted with every harmful substance known to man (whichever one they're supposed to do changes from day to day).
  - toomuchtodo 2mo ago
    It's not just about water. It's about the noise, little to no benefit to the community besides a handful of jobs, air pollution where they're colocated gas turbines for power, and pushing up electricity prices. They are a net negative for most communities. "Winning" in this context is simply slowing down permitting and construction until the capital bubble pops, at which point a great deal of these projects simply evaporate. And the bubble will pop eventually. 'Living in Hell': Data Center Neighbors Grapple With Noise, Air Pollution - https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2026-04-28/living-in-hell-data-center-neighbors-grapple-with-noise-air-pollution https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2026-04-2... - April 28th, 2026 Measuring the Impact of Data Centers in the United States Economy: Monetary Damage from Air Pollution and Greenhouse Gas Emissions - https://www.nber.org/papers/w35100 https://www.nber.org/papers/w35100 | https://doi.org/10.3386/w35100 https://doi.org/10.3386/w35100 > This paper quantifies the environmental externalities associated with electricity consumption by data centers in the United States, focusing on damages from local air pollution and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Using facility-level data for approximately 2,800 operational data centers in 2025, combined with electricity grid characteristics and emissions data, the analysis estimates pollution impacts through the AP4 integrated assessment model and applies the social cost of carbon for GHG valuation. Results indicate that data centers consume roughly 250 TWh of electricity—about 5–6% of U.S. generation—and generate approximately $25 billion in gross external damages (GED), with a range of $10–$33 billion. These damages are highly geographically concentrated, with Texas and Virginia accounting for 30% of the national total. While GED comprises about 5% of industry GDP, this ratio varies widely across states, exceeding GDP in some regions. Planned data center expansion could increase electricity demand and associated damages by up to 85% in the near term. Despite these environmental costs, preliminary comparisons suggest that the damages attributable to AI-related energy use are small relative to potential productivity gains. [My note: potential gains] Health implications of the rapid rise of data centers in Virginia: an exploratory assessment - https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/climate/articles/10.3389/fclim.2026.1648912/full https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/climate/articles/10.338... | https://doi.org/10.3389/fclim.2026.1648912 https://doi.org/10.3389/fclim.2026.1648912
ghostly_s 2mo ago
This letter says nothing about Louisiana or Virginia, what exactly are you talking about?
- CSMastermind 2mo ago
  I believe they're implying that if the data centers don't get built in Texas they will be built in Louisiana and Virginia.
undersuit 2mo ago
This is delicious comedy.
outside1234 2mo ago
The problem is that the costs of Texas blowing natural gas carbon into the air are largely paid by wildfires in California, so we are going to need another mechanism to make sure that is felt in Texas as well.
selimthegrim 2mo ago
How is Louisiana going to profit by it besides selling hot plates to the construction workers?
epolanski 2mo ago
I don't think these data centres bring that much money locally. Beyond the construction they employ very little people and bring very little taxes at a gargantuan cost in resources.

by arjie 2mo ago

jnovek 2mo ago

When experiments fail the constituents pay the price, not the experimenters.

andsoitis 2mo ago
> When experiments fail the constituents pay the price, not the experimenters. Are you arguing that the leaders of a state, who were elected by the constituents, should not experiment and try make things better? By definition, some experiments will fail.
- platevoltage 2mo ago
  Can you name a politician who's been elected based on their promise to put datacenter in their community?
  - andsoitis 2mo ago
    > Can you name a politician who's been elected based on their promise to put datacenter in their community? That's not a useful question. What's the point you're trying to make?
    - platevoltage 2mo ago
      You called it "experimenting". People vote for candidates because they want them to do what they campaigned on, not experiment on them. As far as I'm aware, no candidate has campaigned on building datacenters next to their constituents' houses.
tjwebbnorfolk 2mo ago
Nevertheless, experiments are necessary. Political entrepreneurialism is necessary if you want anything to improve. You can experiment on everyone, or you can experiment at the local level. One is obviously preferable over the other. Nobody has all the answers.
WarmWash 2mo ago
Maybe they should consider voting.
mminer237 2mo ago
The constituents elect the experimenters, and generally become the experimenters thereby.
ihsw 2mo ago
[dead]

coldbrewed 2mo ago

Virginia has more power infrastructure in place but said infrastructure is already seeing significant DC build out; I know little about power distribution in Louisiana but would be surprised if there was extensive spare capacity in the transmission lines and generation facilities. I'm surprised that the rust belt hasn't seen more uptake since they had all that manufacturing capacity but the backing power generation/distribution may have atrophied in the intervening years.

ryukoposting 2mo ago
> I'm surprised that the rust belt hasn't seen more uptake Oracle's doing something just outside the Milwaukee metro. I'd imagine there are others. Datacenter buildout is wildly unpopular around the Great Lakes, and that's not new. For Wisconsinites specifically, the whole thing has a whiff of Foxconn about it. For the uninitiated: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisconn_Valley_Science_and_Technology_Park https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisconn_Valley_Science_and_Tec...
- mikeaskew4 2mo ago
  Drove past it a few times this summer. Wrecked the nice drive.
- mikeaskew4 2mo ago
  Also Port Washington…
micro2588 2mo ago
Some of the largest proposed data centers in the US are in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio. The electricity infrastructure is important so is cheap natural gas from the Marcellus shale, natural gas pipeline infrastructure and relaxed regulations.

ElProlactin 2mo ago

> It is a machine for us to iterate on our present and future prosperity. The former middle class has entered the chat.

deleted 2mo ago
[deleted]

w29UiIm2Xz 2mo ago

Polling shows a fairly bipartisan opposition to data centers, so it could encourage more states to join in with pauses of their own.

adamrezich 2mo ago
Well yeah nobody wants their local water supply to be either disintegrated into subatomic particles or polluted with every harmful substance known to man (whichever one they're supposed to do changes from day to day).
- toomuchtodo 2mo ago
  It's not just about water. It's about the noise, little to no benefit to the community besides a handful of jobs, air pollution where they're colocated gas turbines for power, and pushing up electricity prices. They are a net negative for most communities. "Winning" in this context is simply slowing down permitting and construction until the capital bubble pops, at which point a great deal of these projects simply evaporate. And the bubble will pop eventually. 'Living in Hell': Data Center Neighbors Grapple With Noise, Air Pollution - https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2026-04-28/living-in-hell-data-center-neighbors-grapple-with-noise-air-pollution https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2026-04-2... - April 28th, 2026 Measuring the Impact of Data Centers in the United States Economy: Monetary Damage from Air Pollution and Greenhouse Gas Emissions - https://www.nber.org/papers/w35100 https://www.nber.org/papers/w35100 | https://doi.org/10.3386/w35100 https://doi.org/10.3386/w35100 > This paper quantifies the environmental externalities associated with electricity consumption by data centers in the United States, focusing on damages from local air pollution and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Using facility-level data for approximately 2,800 operational data centers in 2025, combined with electricity grid characteristics and emissions data, the analysis estimates pollution impacts through the AP4 integrated assessment model and applies the social cost of carbon for GHG valuation. Results indicate that data centers consume roughly 250 TWh of electricity—about 5–6% of U.S. generation—and generate approximately $25 billion in gross external damages (GED), with a range of $10–$33 billion. These damages are highly geographically concentrated, with Texas and Virginia accounting for 30% of the national total. While GED comprises about 5% of industry GDP, this ratio varies widely across states, exceeding GDP in some regions. Planned data center expansion could increase electricity demand and associated damages by up to 85% in the near term. Despite these environmental costs, preliminary comparisons suggest that the damages attributable to AI-related energy use are small relative to potential productivity gains. [My note: potential gains] Health implications of the rapid rise of data centers in Virginia: an exploratory assessment - https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/climate/articles/10.3389/fclim.2026.1648912/full https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/climate/articles/10.338... | https://doi.org/10.3389/fclim.2026.1648912 https://doi.org/10.3389/fclim.2026.1648912

ghostly_s 2mo ago

This letter says nothing about Louisiana or Virginia, what exactly are you talking about?

CSMastermind 2mo ago
I believe they're implying that if the data centers don't get built in Texas they will be built in Louisiana and Virginia.

undersuit 2mo ago

This is delicious comedy.

outside1234 2mo ago

The problem is that the costs of Texas blowing natural gas carbon into the air are largely paid by wildfires in California, so we are going to need another mechanism to make sure that is felt in Texas as well.

selimthegrim 2mo ago

How is Louisiana going to profit by it besides selling hot plates to the construction workers?

epolanski 2mo ago

I don't think these data centres bring that much money locally. Beyond the construction they employ very little people and bring very little taxes at a gargantuan cost in resources.