07/29/2026
๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐ ๐ข๐ฌ๐งโ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐ก๐ข๐ฉ๐ฌ. ๐๐ญโ๐ฌ ๐๐ฅ๐ฌ๐จ ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐ก๐จ๐จ๐ฌ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ฎ๐ข๐ฅ๐.
As the United States accelerates investment in AI and data centers, much of the conversation focuses on computing capacity, GPUs, and economic growth.
But responsible AI development begins with responsible site selection.
Data centers require sustained access to electricity, water, land, transmission capacity, and public infrastructure. They should be encouraged in regions equipped to support that demandโnot placed in communities where resources are already stretched and additional consumption could create hardship.
One lesson we can take from Chinaโnot its political system, but its long-term infrastructure planningโis the value of coordinating data center development with energy resources, transmission networks, and regional capacity.
The United States should continue to rely on market competition and local decision-making. But proposed locations should be evaluated comprehensively:
โก Can the regional grid absorb the additional load without compromising reliability or substantially increasing residentsโ utility costs?
๐ง Are water supplies sufficient and sustainable without competing with households, agriculture, or other essential needs?
๐๏ธ Can the region responsibly support the substations, transmission lines, roads, and other required infrastructure?
๐๏ธ Will the community share in the economic benefits without carrying a disproportionate share of the costs?
๐ Would another region support the facility with less disruption and greater long-term resilience?
Not every community is an appropriate location for a data centerโand new infrastructure investment should not automatically justify placing one where resources are already constrained.
Economic development should not come at the expense of water security, grid reliability, affordable utilities, or residentsโ quality of life.
Data centers are becoming as essential to the 21st-century economy as highways, railroads, and ports were to previous generations. We must plan for them with the same coordination, foresight, and regional strategy.
The conversation should not be ๐๐ ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐๐ฌ.
It should be about building AI infrastructure where the necessary resources existโand where growth can strengthen communities rather than strain them.
The countries that lead the AI economy will not simply build the most computing power. They will make the wisest decisions about where that computing power belongs.
๐๐ฎ๐ข๐ฅ๐ ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐ง ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฅ๐จ๐๐.
๐๐ ๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ก ๐ฌ๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐๐ข๐ญ๐ฒโ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐ก๐๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ก๐ข๐ฉ.
What should be evaluated before a new data center is approved?
