$130 billion in data center projects blocked by protests so far this year
Winning fight against AI data centers gives people a "taste of political power."
ars Technica AI·
Even moderately sized data centers can have an outsized local impact.
Read full articleWinning fight against AI data centers gives people a "taste of political power."
Abbott's directive could reshape Texas's tech landscape, impacting data center growth, energy costs, and investment strategies statewide. The post Greg Abbott seeks new limits on Texas data centers with efficiency rules and tax repeal appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
Technology joining custom AI and digital mapping is intended to smooth the passage of large, heavy equipment needed to build large projects like AI data centers and a planned steel mill.
Amazon's water usage disclosure may drive industry-wide transparency, influencing ESG investments and highlighting regional water stress risks. The post Amazon withdraws 2.5 billion gallons of water for data centers in 2025 appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
Just after Seattle enacted a one-year data center moratorium that some of Amazon's own employees pushed for, Amazon shared how much water its data centers use, reportedly for the first time. With concerns about water consumption and energy use a focus of new AI data center construction debates, Amazon says its global data center operations consumed 2.5 billion gallons of water in 2025 at a rate of 0.12 liters per kilowatt-hour of electricity, dropping by two percent from its 2024 total even as it expanded operations. Amazon also claims it's using water more efficiently than some Big Tech rivals - this graphic in Amazon's report points to M … Read the full story at The Verge.
Gov. Greg Abbott is urging tighter controls and a repeal of financial incentives for data centers, which have drawn complaints in rural Republican areas of Texas.
The shift to case-by-case permitting for data centers may expedite AI infrastructure growth but risks environmental standard dilution and legal challenges. The post EPA administrator Lee Zeldin pushes case-by-case permitting for data centers as AI buildout accelerates appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
House Bill 646 would cut a controversial sales tax break in half for future data centers, set new water-use standards, and require the energy-hungry facilities to pay their connection costs.