Local data center pushback prompts Trump’s data center announcement in State of the Union address 

WASHINGTON – President Trump is expected to try to silence public pushback to data centers and concerns about energy bills during his State of the Union address, according to media reports on Tuesday.  

In the announcement, he is expected to claim—without any binding commitments–that tech companies will prevent consumers’ utility bills from going up as data centers continue to demand unprecedented amounts of energy across the country.  

The Southern Environmental Law Center works with communities across the South facing a rapid buildout of data centers and methane gas to power them. We’ve seen firsthand that there is still a long way to go to ensure that data centers minimize the costs they impose on   communities, the environment, and the climate. We need to see binding, enforceable commitments, not PR “deals.”  

The fact that this agreement was negotiated behind closed doors only continues to remind us that the lack of transparency in how data centers are built remains one of the biggest challenges for local communities concerned about the amount of energy and water required by these facilities. 

Statement from SELC Senior Attorney Amanda Garcia:

“Local communities need to be at the table, not an afterthought or a way to score political points. Tonight’s announcement shows that the folks in Washington are starting to hear the voices from communities across the South showing up at public meetings and saying they want real accountability to ensure data centers don’t mean dirtier air, less water, more noise, and higher bills. But one-size-fits-all pronouncements from on high aren’t meaningful solutions. This is the beginning of a conversation, not the end, and we will keep demanding transparency and common-sense protections.”