LOCALIZE IT: Data centers are transforming midterm elections. Here's how to cover them

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — EDITORS/NEWS DIRECTORS:

The proliferation of the massive server warehouses that power artificial intelligence and cloud computing has crystallized opposition into a leading political issue ahead of the mid-term election when voters will decide control of Congress and governors’ offices in the nation’s biggest states and presidential battlegrounds.

The snowballing opposition to data centers in communities across the United States has spawned TV attack ads in campaigns and motivated governors to promise a tougher regulatory regime over data centers, including attaching conditions to permits or yanking the lucrative tax breaks afforded to developers.

Meanwhile, lawmakers and governors are questioning whether residents are footing the bill for the world’s richest corporations and pressing utility regulators to ensure the industry pays for its own water and electric use.

It's also brought perhaps the industry’s biggest booster, President Donald Trump , to its defense.

READ AP’S STORY

In a divided America, the left and right unite to oppose artificial intelligence data centers

Here’s all the ways that data center controversies have transformed the midterm election

FIND YOUR STATE: DATA CENTERS

This map from the industry site, Data Center Map , has a lot of information about projects and locations, though it’s worth verifying the information if you are focusing on a specific community. Cleanview also has a lot of information.

There is at least one data center in every state, but keep in mind that the vast majority of data centers were built before the late 2022 debut of OpenAI’s ChatGPT ignited worldwide demand for chatbots and other generative AI products. The older data centers are tiny in comparison to the hyperscale data centers being proposed and built since then.

The large commercial real estate companies can be good sources of information about development of and challenges for data centers, including these reports by Cushman & Wakefield , CBRE and JLL . Data Center Watch , meanwhile, catalogs the effect of opposition on data center projects.

Data centers usually need to be near cheap sources of water, power and land, and some desire high-speed fiber internet connections.

REPORTING ON DATA CENTER DEVELOPMENT:

— Tax breaks. Thirty-eight states offer an exemption to the sales and use tax for data center developers for the equipment, such as servers, to equip a data center and, in some cases, the materials to build them, according to the National Conference of State Legislature. States usually produce annual reports that show how much tax exemptions cost them in lost revenue, sometimes called tax expenditures, and states often budget into future years how much each tax exemption will cost it. Some local governments also extend property tax breaks for data centers. If so, file a public records request for the company’s application, proposal or signed agreement from the municipality. State agencies that oversee business incentive programs will also likely have that documentation for each project that receives an exemption.

— Permits. States typically grant permits related to earth-moving near waterways, air pollution emissions and wastewater handling. The permits and permit applications should be public record at the state's development or environmental protection agency. The permits could divulge information about how much water and air pollution the project developers expect to create.

— Electric rates . States, either through law or regulation, are trying to ensure that utilities aren't billing regular ratepayers for a data center's electric consumption or the cost to extend high-voltage power lines to a data center. These matters are often handled in dockets in front of the state utility board, but many state utility boards allow such matters to be handled confidentially , making it difficult or impossible to know whether the utility is really charging the data center developer for the true cost — or shifting part of it to regular ratepayers. Sometimes, utility consumer advocates are allowed to be a party to these confidential ratemaking cases.

— Water use . A number of states are eyeing restrictions on the use of water by data centers and considering putting limits on water use or requiring data centers to use “closed loop” systems.

— Electric and water use. Has the grid operator, utility or a state public utility board studied the effect of data centers on the local electricity and water supply? Are data center operators reporting publicly to any government agency how much electricity and water they use on a regular basis? Are data center developers under a mandate to limit their electric or water use?

— Secrecy. Often, data center developers are in touch with local utilities and government officials at all levels — state, county and municipal — about a project long before they announce it to the public. Details of or the existence of some projects have been discovered through public records requests seeking emails between government officials and employees of tech giants and data centers developers, or their representatives. Data center developers often ask public officials to sign non-disclosure agreements. The existence of those agreements, or copies of them, might also be discoverable through state public records requests.

— AP has reported that in some communities, tech companies have made donations to municipal programs to mitigate the cost of data centers. The tech companies likely advertise these kinds of donations, but it's worth trying to get ahold of the actual agreement to see all the details.

— In some places, opposition has been building in ways that defy typical partisan boundaries. How have local and state officials reacted to vocal opponents and proponents of data centers? Have you noticed shifts in how officials talk about the issue now as opposed to several months or a year ago? Or for people running for office, have there been shifts in how their campaign language addresses this? Did they once vote for or sign legislation designed to help data centers?

— If people in your area oppose or support a current or potential data center, what are their reasons? Are financial offers and promises from tech companies and developers enough to offset their concerns? How critical might new jobs be in your area? Talk to farmers, local union leaders and members, local business owners, homeowners and residents near the proposed site about their thoughts and how this issue may or may not impact their vote.

READ ADDITIONAL AP COVERAGE

Governors’ races are being increasingly buffeted by the toxic politics of data centers

Democrats seize on AI data center backlash that’s dividing rural Republicans in places like Texas

As gas plants rise to power AI, renewable energy allies are fighting for cleaner alternatives

In the PR battle for AI data centers, tech giants got a blue-collar ally

Federal regulators order grid operators to speed power to energy-hungry AI data center

As electric bills rise, some states are focusing on the growing profits of utilities

Feds pave the way for Big Tech to plug data centers right into power plants in scramble for energy

AI is spurring a big expansion of high-voltage power lines. Landowners and locals are fighting back

Big Tech’s fast-expanding plans for data centers are running into stiff community opposition

States are rolling out red carpets for data centers. But some lawmakers are pushing back

Artificial intelligence technology behind ChatGPT was built in Iowa — with a lot of water

Localize It is a resource produced regularly by The Associated Press for its customers’ use. Questions can be directed to the Local News Success team at localizeit@ap.org. View guides published in the last 30 days here .

Follow Marc Levy at http://twitter.com/timelywriter .