00:00A city council in Minnesota just had to stop a vote on a Google data center because protesters
00:06would not stop chanting. Across the country, counties are deadlocking,
00:12judges are weighing in, and the money behind the build-out keeps growing.
00:17In Minnesota, a vote on one of the most closely watched data centers in the Midwest never happened.
00:24On Tuesday night, the Hermantown City Council postponed final local approval for a proposed
00:31Google campus outside Duluth after about two hours of chanting. Hundreds showed up,
00:37and nearly 100 people shouted let us speak and shut it down. Then sat on the floor. A city
00:45administrator called it an unsafe, unneighborly environment. The campus would cover about 1.7
00:52million square feet and use roughly 500 megawatts. With a first phase costing $650 million,
01:01Google has dropped its pursuit of up to $80 million in tax breaks. Opponents worry about wetlands,
01:09trout streams, and noise. While building trades unions point to construction jobs.
01:16The fight is just as tense in Florida. In DeSoto County, commissioners voted 2-2 on Tuesday on a
01:24rezoning of roughly 238 acres. For a hyperscale data center, which means the request failed,
01:32Commissioner Elton Langford backed it, Commissioner Judy Schaefer called the project
01:38too massive. And Steve Hickox recused himself over a potential conflict of interest. The developer,
01:45DCIP Group, has sought about 826 acres near Arcadia for a complex of natural gas-powered
01:53data centers. And the county had already approved rezoning 34 acres in March on a decommissioned power
02:01plant site. Another DCIP application was scheduled for a vote the very next day.
02:07Even though the Planning Commission had recommended denial 4-1, that opposition is now making its
02:16way into courtrooms. And not always in the way developers hope. In Frederick County, Maryland, Judge James
02:24Bonifant denied an emergency request from Quantum Maryland for a temporary restraining order against
02:31County Executive Jessica Fitzwater's data center moratorium. Quantum, managed by Catelis Development Corporation,
02:40argues the pause is illegal and unconstitutional and says it blocked an Adamstown area real estate
02:46deal worth at least $500 million. The county says there is no emergency. The moratorium, extended in September
02:56to July 1, 2027, exempts projects with earlier agreements. Fitzwater said on Facebook she will not be
03:05intimidated. A status hearing on Quantum's request for a preliminary injunction is set for November 10. So the legal fight
03:14is far from over. And the reason this fight keeps gaining momentum comes down to power. And what it burns.
03:23A new Sierra Club analysis reported by Bloomberg. Projects that U.S. power sector emissions could reach 2.1
03:31billion metric tons of carbon dioxide by 2030 once planned AI projects are included. That is 618 million
03:40tons. Or about 42 percent. Above 2025 levels. Off-grid plants that data centers built to supply their own
03:50electricity could alone exceed 4.160 million tons. Roughly the annual emissions of Mexico. And most of that
03:59power could come from natural gas. Sierra Club advisor Jeremy Fisher said the numbers boggle the mind.
04:07Though other studies put the figure lower. And projects may still be delayed or canceled.
04:13Oracle recently sent a force majeure notice on its Project Jupiter site.
04:19State and local leaders are writing the rules in real time. And Oregon's Washington County just took a stand.
04:26On Tuesday, commissioners voted 3 to 1 for a resolution opposing large-scale standalone data centers in
04:35unincorporated areas. Under it, county departments may not voluntarily grant easements or rights of way
04:42that would help build one. May not sell or lease county property for that purpose. And may not sign
04:49related non-disclosure agreements unless the law requires it. The county also will not support using
04:56job creation tax incentives to attract them. Vice Chair Jerry Willey cast the loan no vote.
05:03The resolution does not create a formal moratorium or an outright ban. And no such projects are known or pending.
05:12Nearby, Hillsborough's moratorium runs through November 24th. And Forest Grove approved a 120-day pause.
05:21Yet despite that regulatory wave, construction is pressing forward in the Arizona desert.
05:28The Glendale City Council has approved a major step toward a $36 billion data center.
05:34Called Project Eagle, also known as Project Bacara, on 160 acres at Litchfield Road and Olive Avenue.
05:43The campus would have two buildings and about 700 megawatts of natural gas generators
05:50that supply the site and help the regional grid. It sits roughly two miles northwest of Luke Air Force Base.
05:57And city officials say they worked with the base on compatibility. Residents have raised concerns about
06:04groundwater, pollution, and air quality. The developer must help pay for a new traffic signal and fund
06:11hazardous materials and fire services. Construction is scheduled to begin next month, with the first
06:19building opening in 2028. And the financial commitment behind that construction is staggering.
06:27Data Center Dynamics reports that Broadcom is organizing a $63 billion financing,
06:33code-named Project Northstar, with Bank of America, Blackstone, Citigroup, and Morgan Stanley, to fund
06:42purchases of Broadcom-developed Google TPU chips that will be used by Anthropic. It is one of several
06:50enormous capital moves this week. Nvidia plans to invest $3 billion in Meta's $97.5 billion equity offering,
07:00and the New York Times reports that Meta and SpaceX will raise billions more for AI infrastructure.
07:07Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs economist Jan Hatzius expects hyperscaler AI investment to peak this quarter at about
07:161.5% of US economic output, a signal of how much weight rests on this build-out.
07:23Which brings us to the demand that keeps all of this moving. Amazon's chief executive says capacity
07:30at Amazon Web Services is largely sold out for 2027, and that a good chunk of 2028 is already pre
07:39-sold,
07:41excluding EC2. That helps explain why expansion plans keep surfacing.
07:46Oz is planning to expand its footprint in Montgomery County, Missouri, and is holding an open house on
07:54its plans in Posey County, Indiana. Microsoft bought 37 acres in Licking County, Ohio, and a 520-megawatt
08:04campus with 11 buildings has been proposed in Eatonton, Georgia. But BizNow reports that equipment shortages and
08:12long, unpredictable lead times are stretching supply chains, which could slow projects even where communities
08:20say yes.
