America unites on one issue: Reining in datacenters

Datacenter restrictions found broad support in this week's US midterm elections.

Data Center Watch, which tracks grassroots opposition to compute sheds across America, examined the public positions of 74 selected candidates across the 36 states that elected governors in the midterm elections on November 3.

It found that 43 percent of those candidates supported a ban or moratorium on new projects, while another 51 percent backed further regulation or conditional development. Only about 5 percent had no stated public position.

Support for bans or moratoriums crossed party lines, although it was more common among the Democratic candidates examined (60 percent) than Republicans (30 percent).

Candidates from both major parties backed restrictions in eight states: Maryland, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oregon, Wisconsin, and Texas.

Texas has experienced a boom in data campus development recently, thanks to its ample energy resources and light-touch regulations, although outgoing governor Greg Abbott ordered a pause earlier this year while audits of energy and water …