Marble Falls       It’s interesting to see how data centers have jumped from a local issue in some communities concerned about energy shortages, costs, pollution, and water to a national issue that bundles all of this into a package along with antipathy to artificial intelligence, our tech overlords, and even the current administration. While some red state politicians have “read the room” and announced moratoriums, studies, and whatnot, Trump and his team are still “pedal to the metal” racing towards the wall with seemingly no clue about how this issue is breaking with voters around the country, including their base.

All of which made me read with more than usual interest a report that showed up in my inbox from of all places Iowa, where a report that normally focused on events in Des Moines took a look at projections being made for how issues around siting data centers and other old school and alternative energy projects are being handled by local and state governments.  Most of their data came from something called the Siting Solutions Project, a nonpartisan initiative focused on energy siting and permitting.  This outfit predicts that we haven’t seen anything yet, because 2027 will be off the charts.  Across the country they found that…

Of the more than 200 bills tracked this legislative session, 43% were restrictive and 36% would have “had a positive impact” on renewable energy deployment. The project’s report from 2025 similarly showed a trend toward restrictive bills, but a smaller share, 22%, of 2025 bills were permissive. Less than 30 of the bills tracked by the organization have been enacted, and of those, just two were categorized as restrictive policies.

Importantly, the project was looking not only at siting issues for renewable energy and data centers, but also for renewable energy projects.  Some of what they found would confound any kneejerk analysis that assumed red and blue states would be operating monolithically.  So, yes, Kentucky passed a bill making it very hard to site alternative energy, but Alabama passed one making it easier to convert oil and gas facilities to renewable energy.  You figure?

Even if the administration is missing the boat on data centers, they seem firmly opposed to developing alternative energy projects.  Reportedly, Trump’s administration has paid more than $4 billion to stop wind projects on the federal level.  The states are more of a mixed bag.  Texas for example has a ton of renewable energy projects already in place and on the drawing board, and the governor has declared a moratorium on new data center projects.  Washington and Oregon have a lot of what researchers see as permissive legislation, but actually siting alternative energy project they term slow and costly.  States like Arkansas and Louisiana are seen as neutral with a mix of both restrictive and permissive bills on the calendar.

Looking forward to the researchers are clear:

Overall, researchers … said data centers and energy affordability will likely drive conversations around renewable energy siting policy. “2027 is going to be the biggest year yet for renewable energy siting and permitting legislation, considering both the trends of data center buildout and the rising electricity bills that Americans are seeing that are affecting their wallets.”

Bottom line, this gumbo of energy, data centers, artificial intelligence and more is going to be a political hot button for the coming year, and likely longer.