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There isn’t much the federal government can do here. Planning permission is very local in the US. If local officials don’t want a data center it isn’t happening
by cmiles8 2mo ago
There isn’t much the federal government can do here. Planning permission is very local in the US. If local officials don’t want a data center it isn’t happening.
In most communities these days you’d have better luck proposing to build a toxic waste processing facility than a data center.
- roosterIllusi0n 2mo agoThey can certainly look the other way when these small town boards get paid off to allow the datacenter.
- cmiles8 2mo agoWell the reason data center stuff is news is that local boards are resisting all the usual efforts. It’s been quite extraordinary, but town after town is sending the data center folks packing.
- detourdog 2mo agoFERC is some sort of law that takes control of local ordnances to force local municipalities to accept energy infrastructure. https://ferc.gov/ https://ferc.gov/
- cmiles8 2mo agoIn theory yes. In practice if the local congressman wants to keep their job they’ll block it at any cost if there’s local opposition.
- detourdog 2mo agoI watched Massachusetts fail at this opposition about a decade ago. Courts sided with the feds. https://ferc.gov/ https://ferc.gov/ https://nofrackedgasinmass.com/massachusetts-pipelines/ https://nofrackedgasinmass.com/massachusetts-pipelines/
- hvb2 2mo ago> Courts sided with the feds. After how many years of making it through the court system? Because 5 years of delay all but guarantees that the potential builder is no longer interested.
- detourdog 2mo agoI watched the forest protected by the Commonwealth’s environmental laws get dynamited and built. I like your optimism but find it misplaced in this case.
- unrented7977 2mo agoNo? This isn't a planning permission question, the federal government has eminent domain and can simply take land for federal use. Just like with the railroads and power grid. Of course building datacenters is absolutely not what eminent domain is for, but rules don't apply anymore, so they'll probably do it anyway until the supreme court stops them.
- al_borland 2mo ago> If local officials don’t want a data center it isn’t happening. Until the company behind the data center sues the small town, who can’t afford the fight, and are forced to roll over. That seems to be what happened in Michigan.